On average, we spend about a third of our waking hours working. Do you really want to spend a third of those years feeling miserable? And what about the impact on your family? There is a strong and proven correlation between feeling happy at work and happy at home.
You have one life and your job is to live it. You're smart, you've got a lot to offer and you don't have to put up with being put upon.
Don't worry, all is not lost! Because I'm going to share with you 3 powerful steps you can take that will kick-start your exit path from a job that you hate:
1. Brainstorm your brilliance
Scribble down all your skills, experience, and achievements in every area of your life. What are your unique qualities?
You might find this very difficult - this is common when you're in a job that drains you. Your confidence gets knocked, your energy gets zapped and it's difficult to remember how good you really are or what you love.
If you find it difficult to think of all the things that make you great, ask a friend, a former colleague or someone who loves you and who does remember how smart you really are. Let them hold up a mirror to you when you can't see yourself - this is allowed!
2. Allow yourself to get mad
Your worst enemy in situations like these is apathy. You need to create some momentum and anger can be a very positive emotion to harness positive action.
Time to stop being a victim and start feeling angry that you are doing so much for so little. Get your fangs out and direct that anger in a positive way! When you direct your anger in a positive way, it means that you decide you will not be a victim.
It's not about taking your anger out on your boss or indeed on anyone else - that's not going to help. It IS about directing the anger into positive action. You might not be able to wave a magic wand and make everything right in an instant, but you can do something. Set yourself daily positive actions and keep the energy going.
3. Make a decision
Tell yourself this: You are NOT stuck in this job/company/team forever. You are NOT stuck here for the rest of your working life. Six months max. That's it - decide that, no matter what, you are getting out of dodge within six months to a year.
This is an immensely powerful step, because once you realise that you are NOT trapped, that this is TEMPORARY, your whole mind-set will change. A positive mind-set will help you to access your resilience. And you'll become more 'attractive'. And this means you'll start spotting opportunities you simply couldn't see before. OF course, you'll need to do some planning, you'll need to have an open mind, but once you decide that you're not going to settle for plodding along and you put an end date on purgatory, you'll start feeling better fast. I promise!