There are few feelings as soul crushing than laboring away at a job you despise and feels as though it’s going nowhere. Waking up in the morning and staring down the prospect of 8-12 hours doing something that bores, frustrates or irks you for a boss who doesn’t value respect or appreciate you is an agony we’ve all felt at times. It’s not uncommon for us to become annoyed or frustrated by our jobs, and when this happens we keep our eyes fixed elsewhere. We apply for other, more fulfilling jobs but when our endless applications yield no fruit it can be utterly infuriating and may leave us thinking that we’re stuck in a dead end job. While this feeling is indeed utterly mortifying, let’s not forget that our perception often determines our reality. Perceive your job as a dead end job for long enough and it will inevitably become a dead end job.
But even the worst jobs are not irredeemable. Your seemingly dead end job needn’t necessarily be a dead end. Here’s why…
Your free time is your own (so use it effectively)
Even if you work cripplingly long hours or need to put in considerable overtime to make ends meet, it’s essential to use your free time effectively if you’re to hope to escape this job. Fortunately, the digital realm affords us more ways than ever before to escape jobs we hate. The world of online learning allows us to pursue college accredited courses like this online policing program than ever before. If you want a career that makes a difference, online learning can help you achieve it. Or even set up your own business as a side hustle. If you make time, remain disciplined and avoid the allure of the TV and sofa after you clock off, anything is possible.
You’re gaining valuable skills
Whether you’re aware of it or not, every day you spend in your dead end job you’re gaining valuable skills which will only make you more appealing in the eyes of your next employer. Every time you smile through an unreasonable customer’s angry tirade, every time you swallow your anger and frustration and commit to doing your job as best you can and every time you put your professionalism before your personal feelings you score a victory for yourself. Your perseverance and professionalism will be recognized some day.
You’re making friends
It’s incredible what a difference the right colleagues can make to even the most insufferable of jobs. Adversity has a way of building close and enduring frienships. While this may be a blessing in disguise, it is a blessing nonetheless. If it affords you nothing else, your job has allowed you to make good friends. And one day you’ll look back on all of this and laugh heartily.
Finally… Just think how great it’ll feel when you quit
If nothing else can pull you through the feeling that you’re wasting away in a dead end job, just think about how great it’ll be when the next opportunity comes along (and it will if you keep looking for it). The satisfaction you’ll feel when you hand in your written notice can be an extremely powerful motivator.
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