What would you do if you had a choice between continuing down a path that no longer services you, (either personally or professionally), or, finding a better tomorrow?
What would it take for you to make change?
Who would it impact?
What is possible and what is not?
So many thoughts and options would go through your mind and at the end of it…there is only one question to ask.
What is the worst that can happen?
Ok…scenario:
You are in a job that you are not happy with, and it pays well. Your wife and children complain that you are never present and you get blamed for everything. Work overwhelms you and a few times a year you punch out and take off with your mates to ‘escape’ the world you live in, leaving an angry family unit and when you get back, there are more things that you get blamed for. Inside, you are empty. There is no more job satisfaction, and this has in turn affected how you respond to your home situation and you are just over it.
You are not satisfied with work and your wife is not satisfied with you! You want to run away.
So what are the options available to you?
That is about it isn’t it…these two options. If both aspects of your life are not doing well, which one do you get rid of? Is that a real option and what are the ramifications of doing that?
On the flip side – if you continue the way you are going, results show that high levels of stress and continued dissatisfaction can not only impact your mental wellbeing, but also your overall health.
Something has got to give.
When we are so close to the ‘mess’, sometimes the ability to navigate a pathway to find a solution evades you. You need to step back, take a breath and reflect on what you need…what your heart tells you and not what your mind dictates. We are so often in our heads that we forget to get in tune with our hearts, the core of who we are (not what we are…which is all head work) and then get overwhelmed when it comes to making better choices and decisions for a better tomorrow.
With the scenario above: time with family needs to increase. Work life balance has been overlooked, so finding space/time and opportunity to ‘give back’ to self, to achieve a sense of wellbeing, will have a positive impact on home and work.
Suggestion: change from full employment to contract work. You can achieve your KPI’s in your time, not what the ‘office’ manager states in relation to ‘you need to be here between 9 and 5, 5 days a week'. If you can achieve your results in less time, kudos to you! Working smarter not harder will give you more free time, so you can nurture yourself, be in a better space to deal with everyday life’s challenges and give back to the family.
Sound like a solution? It seemed all too big in the beginning…just one small shift, like how you work, can take all the pressure off, which can have a positive ripple effect in all aspects of your life.
