Choosing a career is clearly one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. It is right up there with choosing a partner or somewhere to live. Given the amount of time we spend at work, being happy in your job is an essential part of being happy in your overall life. That’s why it’s surprising that so many people stay in jobs where they are fundamentally unhappy. Some people may be afraid to take the risk of jumping into a new field, or are concerned that they will have to make sacrifices and accept a lower pay at their new profession. These are legitimate concerns but what these people fail to see are the hidden costs of being in the wrong career. If you truly appreciate the real cost of staying in the wrong job or career, then you are much more likely to take the risk and attempt something new. Here are some of the hidden costs of staying at a job where you are unhappy.
Increased Stress
Choosing the wrong career adds a lot of stress to your life. If you don’t like what you are doing, you are going to have to overcome internal resistance to doing it. Repeat this unhappy routine every day, and you add a lot of stress and internal turmoil to your life.
Low Energy
This stress and inner turmoil saps your energy reserves. Your work tires you out, and you don’t have any energy left for other activities. Think about how much time you spend at work. If this situation is really draining your inner strength, then you are not going to have much fuel in the tank for other activities, even if they are life affirming things that you enjoy doing!
Low Confidence
Instead of trying to really move forward and grow in your career, you find yourself trying to survive each day. This creates a situation where your confidence plummets. You don’t feel really competent or successful. Instead, you feel trapped and stuck. For obvious reasons this is not a great place to be and will hold you back from pursuing opportunities that are presented to you.
Low Productivity
All of the above mean that you will not be as productive. Your performance suffers and you will not shine at what you do. This means that you are going to lose opportunities for promotions and raises that you might have gotten if you were performing at your full potential.
Think about this when you are concerned about the financial ramifications of choosing a career. You might have to make a short-term financial sacrifice when you switch career, but if it makes you happy and you are more productive, then opportunities will open up. You may get promotions, raises and opportunities that you might not have gotten when you were unhappy. Your long-term financial prospects are simply better if you are happy in your career. Happiness will lead to productivity, and this will lead to more and better opportunities.
Damaged Relationships
What about the rest of your life? These costs don’t apply only to your work life. They spill over into your relationships with family, friends and neighbours. If you are stressed and unhappy, you are not a fun person to be around. You might have a short fuse, get impatient and be easily frustrated with others. This does not lead to good relationships and the personal cost can be enormous.
Understand Enjoyment Performance Theory
What about if you were in the right job? You can expect all of the above to be reversed! You can expect to have less stress, more energy, more confidence and better relationships. Enjoyment performance theory simply states that the tasks we enjoy doing, we do more often and consequently we get better at them. Makes sense right?
So how do we identify what we enjoy and are good at? Use a cutting edge psychometric tool like Forsee’s Career Navigator. It uses Performance Enjoyment and Paradox Theory to help you choose your ideal career matches, gain a deeper understanding of your personality traits and behaviours and it’s available now for a free trial.
More and more people are realising that choosing a career that you enjoy is massively important to you overall well being. The more people we can convince to take steps to create the life they want, the more productive and happier we’ll all be.
Want to discuss how to develop your potential? Click here for a free trial or contact us on 1300 511 311 to discuss what you want to achieve.