Do bad jobs suck souls?
If you’re among the unlucky who has one of those bad jobs, work can do that to you.
Being treated like you’re dumb or incompetent is enough to make anyone grouchy.
Or maybe your job is boring, and you’re struggling to stay awake.
Either way, spending the best hours of your day somewhere you hate is enough to drain your soul until your soul-meter is hovering on E.
So I’m popping into your day like this, unannounced, to give you a gentle reminder that it doesn’t have to be this way.
You do have a choice.
And not only does the world deserve to have you doing work that you love, you deserve it too.
It’s not easy to wrestle yourself away from the soul-sucking nature of a bad job, because, let’s face it, you’ve got to work.
But, terrifying as it might be to figure out how to make a career change, you can do it.
The alternative is walking around with your soul sucked out of you like you’ve encountered one of Harry Potter’s dementors.
What Do Bad Jobs Do To You?
The symptoms look like this:
- “Depression”: I put it in quotes like that because for many of us, while we call it depression it may not meet the standards of clinical depression (though it may). You should check with your doctor. But the point is you feel like you don’t have energy, mentally or physically. It might be hard to get out of bed, and you just don’t have the “get-up-and-go” to do anything anymore.
- Anxiety: Bad jobs can leave you feeling overcome with worry. You might just feel stressed about everything from your commute to your boss to your kids and more. Maybe you think, “I never used to be like this.” If your bad job is grating on your nerves, your soul is being drained.
- Irritability: Do you feel like Oscar the Grouch? Bite people’s heads off much? If you’re constantly ticked off because your job is really getting to you, your job is starting to transform you into someone you don’t want to be.
- Couch-Potato-itis: This goes along with depression, but even for those who don’t identify as depressed, you might notice a real lack of motivation to do anything but turn on Netflix and speed eat chocolate. I don’t have to tell you this isn’t good for your body, mind or long or short term goal achievement.
- Sadness: You might feel plain old sad when you have a bad job. Maybe the day just stunk. Maybe you’re sad about the things you’re not doing. Maybe the road of 10, 15, 20 or more years of the same thing is just too bleak. . . whatever it is, it can be overwhelming.
How To Fight Back When You Hate Your Job?
Fighting back when you hate your job takes more than a little courage. You’re already in a hole if you’re struggling with these symptoms, and you’ll have to muster all the strength you have, but knowing that you can get to a better place can be extremely motivating.
Look around and see if you can figure out where you’d like to be instead. There are many resources on this blog to help you home in on your own calling.
Then, make a plan for getting there. Again, use the resources here.
That’s not to say it’s easy.
That’s not to say there won’t be fears.
That just means it’s doable. It’s been done, and you can do it. You don’t have to suffer in the land of bad jobs. You can make it to the other side and do work you care about.