Do you sit at work counting down the hours until it’s time to go home? What is it that makes you stay where you are? Many of us stay in jobs for far longer than we find them fulfilling and it’s not unusual for people to see work as a chore that just has to be got through.
If this is how you feel then work has become the means to an end, rather than the end in itself. In other words, the only reason you go to work is to earn money that you can spend on covering the basics and living the part of life that you enjoy – whatever you get up to at the weekends.
But living like this is no way to live; in fact some people would say it’s actually a slow death. You should search for the kind of work that is the end in itself, work that you find so interesting and fulfilling that you would do it even if you weren’t getting paid.
Of course, it’s not always easy to decide what that is, and you may have a few false starts along the way. But it’s never too late to give up on finding a profession that can bring you joy through work. It’s like the line in the Matt Dillon film, The Flamingo Kid, when Jeffrey’s father Arthur is giving him advice. He says that there are only two things that are important in life, finding out what you are good at, and what it is that makes you happy. He goes on to say that you’re blessed if they turn out to be the same thing.
In order to discover what it is that you want to get out of life, you need to talk through ideas with other people. It’s not always ideal to talk to relatives or friends, as they may have their own opinion of what you should be doing, and try to influence your choices as they think they know what is best for you. Some people try clairvoyant readings at The Circle as a life analysis tool, and it can be a really helpful way to get a fresh perspective on decisions you have made in the past, and to understand how those decisions shape your life.
Quitting a steady job isn’t something you should rush into, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay in it forever. Take your time to discover what it is that would really give your that sense of fulfilment and then make the move when the time is right.