Do you look forward to getting out of bed and going to work, or do you want to pull the covers over your head and try to go back to sleep? Are you bored at your job each day, getting more satisfaction after sneaking in a game of Candy Crush Saga than you do completing your actual work assignments? Are you on edge all the time about your job, snapping at people both in and out of work? Do you think your job is completely meaningless? It doesn’t have to be that way. Really?!!!
You may think that you are not entitled to get fulfillment at your job. Perhaps you have in the back of your mind that old formula about “that’s why they call it work,” or you didn’t have good role models when it comes to career fulfillment. Maybe your parents and siblings and friends and co-workers were and are miserable at their jobs in Pakistan, and see their jobs as meaningless, so you think that is the norm.
Yes, you can be Happy in your Career
The career coach says that we are supposed to feel personal meaning in what we do, and when we do, we get to “live the joys of professional fulfillment” instead of feeling disappointed. They say that “the reality is that those who feel passionate about their work also exhibit high levels of motivation and achievement.” So the more fulfilled you feel in your job, the higher you can soar in your career.
However, making the effort to find meaning in our job is easy to neglect. After all, it may simply be easier to just go along to get along without considering this. “For many,” experts say, “it seems safer to stay on the path of least resistance rather than take on the challenges of career re-evaluation.”
Yet there can be some real risks to your career future by not addressing finding meaning in it. You could be bored witless with your job, you can get burned out, you can feel yourself stagnating, and you could even end up on the unemployment line if you are unhappy. Believe it or not, your employer wants you to be happy, too – the last thing they don’t want a bored, miserable employee.
How you can Start to find meaning in your Career
The career coach says that you need to commit yourself to making changes in your life in order to find happiness in your career. According to the experts, the “prerequisites to finding meaning in your career include” the following things:
- Being open to trying new things
- Having your career connect with not just your personal values, but your skills and talents
- Wanting to “break through your own glass ceiling” and go further than you have before
So how can you find a more meaningful career? Experts recommend you start by looking at what you are already passionate about in your life. In addition, think about what are your natural talents and personal values are, and how you might be able to translate them into a career. Good luck.