Hope Springs - November Expert Article

Career satisfaction. For many of us, we may not give it much thought unless we are dissatisfied with our professions. Yet, we’ve all heard the saying, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life!” Even the saying implies a level of “happiness” that is often unachievable even if we love what we do. We know that “stress” can be healthy as it propels us towards goals that we set for ourselves. Managing the time and effort that it takes to “achieve” within our professional life and balancing that with time and effort devoted to healthy personal enjoyment creates more overall life satisfaction. 

How do we navigate the realization of dissatisfaction within our careers? After all, many of us embarked upon our “work journeys” as if by accident, right? We either met someone that offered a job, and we learned a trade; we may have followed in the footsteps of someone that we admired; we went off to college and somehow landed in major classes that resulted in a degree. Some of us may have known our career life purpose all along, yet we may find ourselves ready for a change at some point in life. No matter the scenario, realizing that it is time for a change may feel terrifying especially when we hold the responsibilities of “adulting” along with the uncertainty of a life change. 

During the Covid pandemic, working from home became more common as it became necessary and mandated for many people. During that time, we probably either learned that we need to be able to have more flexibility within our work schedule, or we may have found that more structure equals more productivity. We may have been more intent on taking care of ourselves by balancing work demands with recognizing our physical needs, or we may have let routines of self-care fall off some as we isolated from social interaction. The key for overall life satisfaction lies in knowing ourselves and our needs. Make life changes if we learn that we are simply “out of balance” rather than that we are dissatisfied with our career overall. 

Sometimes, we realize that we have never felt satisfied with our careers. Again, knowing ourselves well is a key component of making changes within our career path. There is a career self-assessment that is well respected within the counseling world that can help pinpoint a career path that is best suited for you based on personality traits (www.self-directed-search.com). 

The courage and willingness to make changes across all stages of life is crucial for overall life satisfaction. It’s never too late to take steps towards fulfillment in life!