As a coach, one of the most common stories I hear is that people feel unsatisfied or stuck in their jobs and want more from their professional lives and their lives in general. Let’s call it the “unhappy worker story.” Some unhappy workers feel stifled by the skills they’re required to use on the job, and the jobs themselves feel mundane and monotonous. For others, they feel as though the company culture is bullshit or even somewhat brainwashing. Some feel as though they ended up in their career as a result of easy decisions and find little interest in their day-to-day. Many unhappy workers feel like they can’t grow or they aren’t challenged enough, with red tape and egotistical bosses keeping them small. And the one most can relate to, lack of work-life balance. Ultimately, they feel unfulfilled, unsatisfied, disrespected, devalued. Sometimes it’s all of the above. I’m sure you’ve heard these stories, maybe even in your head. As a coach, a major part of what I do is help people parse through these narratives and feelings so they can shift their perspective around whatever is keeping them stuck. And trust me, if getting unstuck was easy, we wouldn’t collectively know this unhappy worker story so well, and there wouldn’t be a huge market for self-help books, coaches, and therapists.

Well, what’s stopping me? Welcome to Club Stuck. 

If you’re feeling off in your career and have for a while, welcome! You’re joining a very large club, Club Stuck, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being here. If you’re here, despite how annoying and frustrating it may be, know that you have a major opportunity on your hands. Firstly, being in the stuck-ness means you’re in a perfect place to self-reflect. So, a lot is keeping you where you are, or at least you are convinced of that. Well, what is it? This is an opportunity of the highest order to know yourself and have the incredible (albeit sometimes painful experience) of metamorphosis or change. Well, why are you here? As humans, we are not always so well-adapted to change. That’s not your fault. The thing to remember is that most of the movers and the shakers in this world took risks. You’ve already got the itch, that’s why you’re here. Ask yourself: what’s worse, living with this unscratched itch, or getting to the often ugly root of it? Most people here are afraid of taking a risk, of failing, or are afraid of themselves and their potential. Read that again and ask yourself, honestly, if any of it resonates. At the end of the day when people realize they are the only thing stopping them from achieving their full potential and their dream career and life are themselves, it’s hard to stay in the “unhappy worker” camp much longer.  

Ready to graduate from Club Stuck?

There’s an unbelievable amount of content on the internet about how to handle this situation. Depending on where you are in your life and what your story looks like, this may be enough for you to recognize when you need to make a leap. But for most, it’s not so simple. The first step in making a move is identifying if it’s right for you. I’ve already shared a lot of the feelings that people have when they feel like they are called to do more or haven’t reached their full potential. Where a therapist or coach comes in is the HOW. For example, you may feel confused, but simply know that you long to do more. What you may not know is if you want to work on that business idea you’ve made a hundred notes about on your phone or if you simply want to work for a different type of company with a better culture. A shift in perspective might help you see your current job in a new light, but it often means making big moves. I’ll be discussing more of the nitty-gritty on making those moves in my next post. In the meantime, if you’ve already said “hell yeah” several times while reading this post, you can click here to schedule a consultation and get on my waiting list.