Stuck? Reinvent yourself!

How many hours a week do you work? Forty, 50, 60 or more? I hope you are enjoying it because if you are not that is a massive time investment in being unhappy.

There are so many people living this massive portion of their lives in monotonous misery. It can be very easy to blame the job, or the boss, or the people around you, or the commute or your lack of opportunity. But at the end of the day you are responsible for how you feel.

Every workplace has its own set of undesirable challenges, and some of them are worse than others, but it is a terrible tragedy for anyone to be spending that much time being unsatisfied in their work. A lack of motivation and drive can become a habit that builds and makes you even more miserable.

Or maybe your career peaked years ago. Maybe you achieved remarkable results, winning great awards, contracts and success. But now for whatever reason, you are not in a position of success and satisfaction.

So what do you do about it?

Goal setting

Having a vision of what you want to do now and in the future is critical. Goal setting is just so important. Maybe you can set goals within the role you are in, without changing jobs. If you give yourself challenges above and beyond what is asked of you in your role then you will find yourself being driven by your own standards. This can be an extremely satisfying and rewarding experience. You rely less on praise and reward from your superiors and co-workers because your rewards are internal. It’s almost guaranteed that people will begin to see a change in you.

Maybe you need to readjust your role. If you’re overworked you may need to communicate this to your boss and try to discuss the possibility of focusing on doing a few things to a higher standard, rather than just pumping out passionless work in vast quantities.

But what if that doesn’t work?

What do you do if setting goals and creating internal motivation doesn’t actually work, and months down the track you find yourself in the same unsatisfied position that you’re in now? What if your boss is not receptive to your requests?

Reinvent yourself

How do you describe yourself in your work? As a manager? As an accountant? As a person that isn’t being given a chance? Believe it or not you can change this. There is a reason that you are holding on to that unsatisfying work experience that you have. It may be that the thought of change is so daunting, and so scary that you don’t even feel like a change of working environment is possible. But look broader still, what about a different career path? When did you last make a decision as to what career you would have? A career shift might incur some cost – whether it be undertaking some study, or reducing your pay scale as you move across to climb a different ladder – but think of all the experience you would have. Wouldn’t that be a more interesting and an infinitely more satisfying journey than the monotonous working life you have now (if that is the case)?

Some people don’t have a choice in career change – they reach the end of a successful sporting career, maybe in their 30s, and must make a change. Take Cathy Freeman for example – she reached the ultimate glory with her running winning gold at Sydney 2000 Olympics. Cathy then used her celebrity to benefit others and created the Cathy Freeman Foundation, an organisation that helps indigenous children develop their literacy and creates a brighter future for Palm Island children. But Cathy has done even more than that! Today she launches a new cartoon series where she features as a cartoon character – Catherine – a young girl who stands up for her rights and the rights of others. This award-winning series has been produced for Save the Children and teaches children about their rights and responsibilities (see clip here, and Cathy’s thoughts here).

You may think that this is easy for someone that is famous – but make no mistake, it takes the same dedication and courage that you need to display if you are living an unsatisfying working life. Cathy was forced to change because her running career finished. Perhaps you need to decide that your unsatisfying work life is finished?

Eve Ash is the creator of FINDING MY MAGIC – a new series being launched today in Sydney.