You’re craving a new challenge, you’re frustrated or bored, and you spend the best part of Sunday night dreading Monday morning. Sound too familiar?
What do you do when your career doesn’t satisfy you anymore?
According to internationally trained Executive Coach, Donald Marmara of Core Development, the first step to having a job you love is to figure out where your current stress or dissatisfaction comes from.
“Believe it or not, you have all the answer inside you,” says Marmara, “you just need to know how to get to them.”
Dissatisfaction generally arises from:
- The type of work you’re doing
- The people you work with eg: personality clash, management approach
- Being good at what you do but not enjoying it
- A ‘values’ clash between you and the company
- Time demands placed on you
- Lack of recognition for your work
- The feeling of being ‘trapped’ on the treadmill
- The need for job security amid a volatile work environment
- Low salary & benefits – not being paid what you’re worth
“Another big issue of course is the struggle between working hours, or climbing the corporate ladder, and time with family,” adds Marmara. “Equally both men and women are feeling estranged from who they are and their families. We’re no longer watching our kids grow up.”
“Once you’ve figured out where the stress is coming from, consider why you’re in your current job – are you working just for the money, convenience, or status, or because you love if?”
“There’s also nothing wrong with taking a job as a means to an end. While I was studying I worked as a housecleaner because it helped me to pay for what I eventually wanted to do. I just had to remind myself what the purpose was as I scrubbed those floors!”
And here’s the clincher – if you had an unlimited amount of money, what would you be doing?
So How Can We Create The Career & Life Of Our Dreams?
“We get so used to being uncomfortable in our lives and we don’t know it,” says Marmara.
“If you’re willing to help yourself climb out of a career rut and you’re genuinely interested in becoming more aware of your own likes and needs, you can create a career and a life that you love.”
“But if you don’t know where you want to go and what you want to achieve, and more importantly, if you’re unable to assess accurately where you’re at right now, then it’s difficult to find out what it is that you truly love to do.”
“It’s like a road map, you need to know your start point and your intended destination before you can work out how to get there.”
And if you’re looking for a little help along the way – sort of like an in-car navigator – then help is at hand. More and more people are enlisting the advice and guidance of a career/life coach who is able to help you identify your underlying values and desires and give you the clarity and confidence to excel in your job or move on to a new one.
Basically a life or career coach can help sweep away the unconscious cobwebs and tangled thoughts that may be getting in the way of you answering some of those big career & life questions.
A coach helps you uncover and validate your passion and just like any good sports coach, they help you stay focused and on track, because every new goal seems strange and impossible at first.
A coach will also help you to be realistic and unrealistic at the same time.
“What we’ve lost in business is that part of ourselves that’s fun and creative, and doesn’t know the ‘rules’.”
“As adults we often fall into the trap of thinking ‘this is how life goes’ and we forget to foster our imagination and appreciate the many points of view that are out there – there’s not just one way to ‘do’ life. A coach helps you find your way and think outside the square.”
ACTION PLAN
- STOP. When you’ve got the flu, the first thing you do is take time out to recover. We move so fast these days we need to stop and review what’s happening, and why.
- LOOK. Where are you now with your career, and where do you want to go? What is your definition of success and happiness? What do you really want out of life?
- DIRECT. Decide whether you’re choosing to move towards an inspiring new future or desperately trying to get away from something you don’t want – make sure your motivation and direction is in tune with your passion.
- ACT. What actions can you take to move towards your new goal? Do you need some time off to refresh or are you ready to get into it? Taking this final step will be the easiest decision of the lot. Why? Because you’ll be following your heart (and mind!).
Case Study:
Katie was a high achieving Advertising Executive earning big bucks. Her clients were major multinationals and she enjoyed all the perks of travel and money. Sounds like the dream job? Trouble is Katie was working 12-hour days 7 days a week with no time for a relationship, friends or other interests. She had stacks of cash but no time to enjoy it.
After seeing Donald Marmara over six months, Katie slowed down to assess her situation. She realised that by increasing her hourly rate and working for herself she could make just as much money working 3-4 days a week. Of course when Katie quit her job and “got a life” her former colleagues thought she was crazy, but the fact was, she was happier and yes, she eventually met someone – it’s the classic Cinderella story, and just like Cindy, she hasn’t looked back.
The Stats…
Trends: Overworked full-timers are suffering ill health, fatigue, and deteriorating quality of working and family life, and want to work fewer hours. (ABS Australian Social Trends ’99)
Of all Australian managers and administrators, 26% worked at least 60 hours a week. (ABS Australian Social Trends ’99)
Australia has a higher proportion of people working long-hour jobs than many other OECD countries. (ABS Australian Social Trends ’99)
According to 2000 estimates, about a quarter of Australian women in their reproductive years are likely never to have children. Key reasons given include the pursuit of education and a career, and the cost of raising children, in terms of both time and money. (ABS 2000)
Information overload is causing ill health amongst 62% of Australian managers and 52% worldwide. (Source: Reuters Business Information Unit Report ’99)