One of my favorite TV shows is “Love It or List It” which broadcasts on the Home and Garden channel. The show is centered on home owners who are trying to figure out if they will love their home after repairs or if they will list their home to purchase another that is more accommodating to their lifestyle. It sounds simple but it’s never an easy or obvious decision. There are challenges during the renovation process and the ideal new home is usually over budget or outside of the couples preferred neighborhood.
“Love It or List It” is a metaphor for life. Many people are trying to figure out if they should love their current job or leave it to pursue a new opportunities. Survey results published in Forbes magazine highlight this dilemma. Of 411 respondents, only 19% of workers reported satisfaction with their current job. Another survey of 30,000 employees revealed that 28% to 56% wanted to leave their jobs.
If you are dissatisfied with your current position, Nora Roberts wrote three simple rules for decision making.
Rule 1: IF YOU DON’T GO AFTER WHAT YOU WANT YOU’LL NEVER HAVE IT.Don’t live of life of “shoulda, coulda, woulda”. Have confidence in your abilities. Get started by building a plan, gaining new skills and expanding your network. And when all else fails trust your gut. Whether you decide to stay in your current job or move on, position yourself for greater success.
Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out.~ Michael Burke
Rule 2: IF YOU DON’T ASK THE ANSWER IS ALREADY NO. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. You have a 50/50 chance of getting a yes. Ask for the promotion! Ask for better opportunities! Ask for the business loan! Being knowledgeable of the possibilities and limitations provides the necessary information to support your career search process.
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that.~ Howard Thurman
Rule 3: IF YOU DON’T STEP FORWARD YOU’LL ALWAYS BE IN THE SAME PLACE. Every journey begins with a single step. The only way to achieve change is through action. Life doesn’t have a remote. You have to get up and change it. It will take time to accomplish your goals but the time will pass anyway. Take action now to pursue greater satisfaction in your career.
Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts.~ Albert Einstein
In the book, “Victim, Survivor or Navigator: Choosing a Response to Workplace Change“, Richard McKnight outlines the three responses to change. The victim mentality responds as, “Please kill me now”. The survivor mentality responds to change as, “I’m hoping for the best but planning for the worst”. But the navigator sees life as an adventure and welcomes challenges.
I encourage you to choose navigation. Set high expectations for yourself and commit to get things done rather than talk about them. Face challenges head-on rather than surrendering your dreams to fear. And learn from your mistakes instead of covering them up. But most importantly, dream big and see every glass as half full.
In the commencement address at Stanford University Steve Jobs said this, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Always remember that you are not your work. You are the delivery vehicle of how your work gets done. Whether you decide to love your job or leave it, be sure to incorporate ways to experience fulfillment in what you do to achieve career satisfaction.
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