Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. I bet you’ve heard that statement many times throughout your life. I even bet you think it’s just a pipe dream. Even when you enjoy what you do, there’s paperwork, bureaucracy, deadlines, and other stresses that make what you enjoy “work.”
Unfortunately, too many people believe this is a pipe dream and don’t let their hearts guide them for fear…fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of criticism, or fear of something else.
The downsides to not going after what you love in order to never work a day in your life include getting stuck in the hum-drum of life, feeling bogged down, helpless, overwhelmed, and not enjoying life.
Not only does living according to this belief that you have to “work” and can’t combine work with your passion to find that you never actually “work” take an emotional toll on us, we start to pass these traits on to our kids “It’s great to have dreams, but you still have to work” and find that we are more like robots than humans.
We lose the fun in life; we lose the ability to enjoy little things; we lose the passion we came to our jobs with.
I have no doubt that you do your job because you’re good at it. Furthermore, generally we enjoy things we’re good at. Thus, we go into a profession that aligns what we’re good at and enjoy.
Over time, you get hit with deadlines, disgruntled employees, bureaucracy, paperwork and you start to think “this is not what I signed up for.”
At the time you may not have know what to do about it. You may have started to understand that “this is how it is.” I mean, you hear it from so many people in so many different careers. There’s too much to do, not enough time, not enough resources.
Unfortunately, all this does is keep you stuck and make you feel worse and worse. It doesn’t get better; in fact it just gets worse. You try changing jobs, which works for a bit, but low and behold, time and time again, the bureaucracy gets to you.
Eventually you wind up at a cross-roads: settle for it, or break away. You may be at this cross-road for a long time. Breaking away seems so scary. It seems wrong and it seems impossible. There are too many benefits of settling, how can you break away and start from the ground up?
You are definitely not alone at this cross-road. We live in a time that is so fast-paced and companies don’t have the loyalty programs they once did to entice you to stay. In fact, it’s the opposite. They see you as dispensable – there’s always someone out there who will do your job.
It’s ok to feel confused and stay at this cross road for awhile. Hopefully you’ll figure out your road and take that path. But for now, just know that you are normal and you are not crazy.
I know this cross-road can be scary. I was there for more than a year. However, if we can learn a little bit about ourselves, it will make it easier to make the decision. You don’t have to stay at this cross-road forever. In fact, it’s worse for you to stay there than to take one road or the other.
Asking yourself just a few questions will help you make the decision of which road is the best road for you at this time in your life. Asking yourself just a few questions makes it entirely possible to feel confident and excited about your career again.
Keep reading for the 5 (five) questions to ask yourself so you can start feeling excited about life and your career again.
YOU ARE CURRENTLY STUCK IN A DEAD-END JOB FEELING YOUR ENERGY RUN DOWN THE DRAIN DAILY
The biggest downside to being stuck in this rut is not living life according to your desires and goals. Life is short and we spend the majority of our adult life “working.”
At the very least, you feel stuck in a hamster wheel doing the same thing every day and not getting anywhere. This is a frustrating feeling and is super boring.
This is no way to live. We have so much freedom in today’s United States. We have freedom to do whatever we want (within the limits of the laws). We have broken stigmas – women not only work outside the home, but they are CEOs and owners of businesses. With the internet, we can do so much from home, the beach, or anywhere we want to work.
Our only limits are our core beliefs and our imagination.
IT IS TIME TO BREAK FREE AND BE WHO YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU GOT OUT OF SCHOOL AND STARTED YOUR CAREER
Although you struggle with confusion and doubt, you have the potential to “never work a day in your life.” There is so much opportunity and so much to gain by living life on YOUR terms.
When we choose to do this, we decrease our stress, improve our health, improve our relationships, improve our overall wellbeing and live longer, healthier lives.
You have the opportunity to create the life you have always wanted. There really are no excuses. When you challenge your core beliefs and open your imagination, a whole new world becomes possible.
5 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE READY TO NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE AGAIN.
Yes it’s true you may be feeling doubtful – you have responsibilities, you have core beliefs or learned beliefs that certain things aren’t possible or shouldn’t be done.
The key to achieving freedom in your life and in your work is to believe it is possible. That’s it. Have the attitude, put the work in up front, and your dream life CAN be a reality.
Making these changes is not as difficult as you may think because you already possess the most important trait – the burning desire (or quiet contemplation, which I promise someday will turn into a burning desire).
Take a look at these 5 (five) questions to see if you are ready to take the next step towards career, financial, and personal freedom.
These five questions are only a handful of the questions found on the Professional Quality of Life Scale (P-QOL). This is an amazing scale which can really help you hone in on how happy you are with you work.
For the purpose of my blog, I chose 5 questions that will help you start thinking hard about whether you are going to be able to “never work a day in your life” at your current position/company.
Question 1: I feel trapped by my job
This is an important question to ask. It may seem obvious when you think about it, but often we don’t give ourselves time to think about things like this.
If you feel trapped in your job, you will dread going to work. You are going to “work” everyday and will feel drained and unsatisfied.
You will know that you are in your dream job when you feel the freedom of working there. If you feel trapped, you are not in your dream job any longer.
Question 2: I am not as productive at work as I used to be
When you are in your dream job, you will be just as productive many years in as you were when you started.
Productive means many things; you may still meet your deadlines, but are you putting the same amount of effort in as you were before? Do you feel invigorated when you complete a task?
Question 3: I am the person I always wanted to be
This is a difficult question. My motto is “never stop learning; never stop growing.” As soon as we stop learning and growing, we start dying.
However, look at the question as you are in your life today. Are you happy today? Are you who you want to be today?
Don’t look at it as your final goal; who you will be in five years. Look at as who you are now. Are you happy…are you thrilled…with what you’ve accomplished and who you are?
Question 4: I feel overwhelmed because my work load seems endless.
How can you possibly live the dream if you are constantly feeling overwhelmed and your work load seems endless?
When you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. You may enjoy the chaos of your job, but are you feeling overwhelmed by it?
If you are feeling overwhelmed, you are not in your dream job yet. You may be on the right track, and in the right field, but you have not found your dream yet.
Question 5: I believe I can make a difference through my work
A huge aspect to why we do what we do is how it makes us feel. It may not be that you make a difference through your work, but maybe you are contributing to the growth of people in other ways (such as bankers who help people grow their retirement).
When people retire, they can lose their sense of purpose. Do you still feel that sense of purpose in your job?
If you are going to work because you “have to” or you are saying how monotonous your job is, you likely don’t believe you are making a difference and therefore are not in your dream job.
These questions are questions you should ask yourself on a regular basis. These are great questions to find out whether you are living your dream or stuck in a dead-end job, which will slowly eat at you, leaving you feeling bored, annoyed, and disgruntled.
Don’t settle when you have so much to offer. There is no excuse with the number of coaches, therapists, and guides out there in so many forms and forums to help you realize your potential and help you reach your goals.
I know it seems overwhelming right now. This blog is not meant to have you make a decision today and start working on that decision. This blog is meant for you to start…start looking at where you are and what you want for yourself.
If you are happy with where you are, great. However, I would venture a guess you are not living the dream right now. When you are ready, Meg Young, LCSW, PLLC is a great place to start. I love helping people reach their goals. I take the burnt-out, overwhelmed, tired professional and help them make a plan for their lives to reach their dreams.
All you need is the desire. I help you create the blueprint and while developing the blueprint, I help you increase excitement and decrease doubt, thus pushing you over the edge and teaching you to fly to new heights.
I cannot wait to work with you, but I know that it takes time. It took me several years before I got up the courage to live my dream. It does not come easy, but with the support, hardwork and knowhow, everything you desire is possible.
When you are ready to take the step and live your life according to your dreams and never work a day in your life by doing the work you love, call me for a free consultation. This will be the first step and is so powerful in getting you started on the right track.
Call me at 941-462-4807. Let’s get as many people as possible living their dreams, even if it is outside society’s expectations! Together we can turn lives around and live life according to our expectations and hopes. I look forward to hearing from you!
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