Personal Development Pop Quiz: Why do you Work?

I am just going to lay this on the line from the get-go:

If your answer to the question of why you work was anything other than because you enjoy what you do, then you need to quit your job.

Maybe not today or tomorrow, or even next week or next month, but certainly in the very near future.

Why? Because if you do anything in life that you don't actually want to do - career-related or otherwise - you are sending the message to yourself that you have no choice. You are a victim of circumstance, and even though you hate your job, you have no choice but to work there.

• Every single time you commute to a job that you do not like, you are reinforcing the fact that you are not in control of your life.
• Each time you have an unpleasant experience with a co-worker or customer at a job that you don't want, you are reinforcing the belief that you have no choice but to put up with those types of circumstances.
• Every time you get a paycheck that is less than you want it to be, you cement in your subconscious that you can't find a way to make more money.
• Each time your job keeps you from attending a family or social event that you want to attend, you are pounding the message home that your life's path is being dictated by someone other than yourself.

You can probably come up with dozens of other ways that your job or your present career choice helps to reinforce your inner belief that this is "just the way it is".

NOTHING is just the way it is! If you don't like "the way it is," then change it!

Why do people keep jobs that they don't want?

Oh, there are as many excuses reasons as there are individual circumstances, but each of them boils down to exactly the same thing: self-limiting beliefs.

People don't pursue work or business opportunities doing the types of things that they truly want to do because they don't believe that it is actually possible.

They think that given their upbringing, their heritage, their geography, their resources, their education, {insert more excuses reasons here}, that it is not possible for them to achieve career success or enjoyment.

That, of course, is ridiculous.

Anyone can do anything that they want to do, if they truly want to do it.

The problem is that even though the average person would be happy to admit that there is some circumstance of their life that they would like to change, only about 1%-5% of those same people will actually do what it takes to effect that change.

Desire is the first and most important key to attaining all things in life. If you do not have the job that you want to have right now, you need to realize the painful truth:

You don't want out of that situation badly enough, because if you did, you would make it happen.

Yes, yes, I know. This all sounds good "on paper" but in reality, there are bills to pay.

LACK!

That is all that is demonstrated by a statement like that. You are perceiving the world as being a place of LACK, when in all actuality, the world is a place of ABUNDANCE.

Check out this post at Breathing Prosperity and then see if you don't reconsider whether or not there is enough money in the world.

Unfortunately, most people tend to think that there isn't enough "stuff" for everyone. There isn't enough money. There aren't enough good jobs. There aren't enough business opportunities. There isn't enough time for training and education.

LACK. LACK. LACK. LACK.

If that is your attitude, then you will be involved in a career that is less than what you want it to be for the rest of your life.

Am I advising you to just chuck it all, tell your boss to take a hike, and then hope a miracle shows up to save your car before it gets repossessed? No, not at all.

However, I am telling you that if you want to do something that you will truly enjoy as a career, then you need to take whatever steps are necessary in order to make that happen.

Get the ball rolling by doing some research, looking into your options, getting some education, putting together a list of goals, maybe even a vision board.

Do SOMETHING to send the message to yourself that you are going to find work that you want to do, stay focused on that dream on a daily basis, and eventually (sooner, rather than later), the opportunity for you to make a positive and permanent change will present itself.

Or, you can just ignore this entire message, and go back to doing whatever work you were doing before you read it. If you take that route, however, ask yourself this:

If you can't take control of something as simple as enjoying what you do for a paycheck, how much control do you think you will have over the other areas of your life?

Think about it.