It is natural to want to do something new after a while. It is also natural to become depressed, bored, angry, or just not satisfied with your current employment. The corporate culture is changing and people no longer stay in at the same company in a job they do not want until they are 65 so they can retire. In fact, people are more likely to come to terms with the lacking nature of their current employment and look for ways to quit or at least start to ask the question, "Should I quit my job?"
The grass is always greener on the other side especially when you are looking for other working opportunities. It is not uncommon when speaking to coworkers to hear statements like, "I am depressed with my job" or "I am bored with my job". While I can fully empathize with these people because I was there at one point in my life, in this post I really want to bring a different perspective to the situation and really add a spin to the statement, "How can I find a job I like".
If I look at ways to quit my job there are a few things I would want to consider first.
- What am I unhappy about in my current position - It is really important for me to fully understand what I like and do not like in the situation I am in right now. Without that information I will not be able to figure out my next step.
- What can I do to make money - This is probably one of the biggest questions anyone looking to leave their current company asks. Unfortunately, the answer really matters on the person asking the question and what their beliefs are about money. That is why I challenge the premise that anyone should leave the job they are currently in. I will explain more on that later.
- Is there another position out there that will make my life better? - This is where the answers to what you are unhappy about will really help you. People always love to blame their existing situation on why they are unhappy, depressed, bored, or whatever. Usually when they look at everything else out there, likely the same problems will just follow them. Not that their life will not be somewhat better, but will it really be on a level that is really worth it.
- That leads to the last question - should I quit my job? Now you can see why actually getting the right amount of clarity is needed before you even go down the path of your current employment and if or when it should end.
When we are at the point that we really start looking on the Internet or trying to find information about leaving our job, that is likely the best time to not quit. Yes, I just said - do not quit. This goes against the mainstream beliefs and websites that help show you every single reason you should leave. I believe you are experiencing a spark inside you that is just trying to be fulfilled and that your current employment is the first major stop along the way that must be completed correctly.
Why don't we look at nature for some inspiration here to prove my point. Here is a little story with some creative license, but it should make you understand my perspective.
Imagine an acorn floating down a stream of run off from a wonderful spring shower. The stream flows out of a beautiful forest and meanders for a while over a few twist and turns. Now the acorn being a passenger on this stream is happily anticipating what adventures are up ahead. It is enjoying itself and looks forward to growing up as part of this grand forest. All of a sudden the stream picks up speed as it goes down an incline and shoots off a rock ledge. The acorn gets a fleeting glimpse of the forest it could have grown up in before it disappears off the edge and loses sight forever. Even though the acorn went off the rock ledge it did get stuck in a crevice on the cliff face and was able to set down its roots. Sometimes the biggest opportunities in life show up as the worst situations.
Obviously, the acorn would not be happy about having to grow up in a crevice on the side of a rock face, especially when it should have been a member of the great forest. Now does the acorn really think like that? No. If you look out in nature, an acorn stuck in a crevice on some rock cliff grows to the best of its ability. It does not sit there wishing or complaining about how depressed or bored it is with its life or job. It takes what life has given it and becomes the best tree it could be considering the situation it is in.
Now here is the part of my story that I want you to really understand. This acorn stayed exactly where it was stuck and applied every talent and skill set it had to its existing situation. Years later we look back on this acorn and it is now a grand beautiful tree. What does it see from this crevice?
Since it has grown up and matured, it is now able to see the great forest from whence it came, and also when it looks down it sees a wonderful new forest at the bottom of the cliff face. The interesting thing about the new forest below it is there is lots of open land where it could drop its own acorns and create new life and strengthen its legacy. All of this opportunity is because the acorn was stuck in a crevice on a cliff face and applied itself.
So when you ask - help me quit my job, now maybe you can see why you should find the correct opportunity and perspective you need at this point in your life. If you want some help finding that much needed clarity, I would be glad to be of service.