Take Control of Your Career

Let’s Fix Work Episode 79

I want to share a story with you this week. It starts out like this: a long time ago, I took an HR Advisor job for a well-known company, and the job sucked. It sucked the life out of me and it sucked my energy. It was downright horrible. And yet, I had an inkling, on the day it was offered, that the choice may be a bad one. But I moved forward because I had a pile of student debt to pay off. And while I did gain some experience and worked on national and international levels, it was not all it was cracked up to be. The biggest lesson from that tumultuous time in my worklife was this: I did not have to take that job and when I realized it was a bad fit, I didn’t have to stay with it.

So this week on the show, the guest is me and I’m talking about putting yourself first, taking control of your career, and being your own HR representative. There is no leadership without self-leadership. So if you’re looking around and you’re waiting for someone to be the person to make a change, look in the mirror because that person is you. Now sit back and listen to this week’s eye-opening episode of Let’s Fix Work.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How I let money drive my decision, realizing later that had I just fixed my relationship with money, I could have had a different relationship with work (and you can too)
2. Realizing you are the only person who can fix work for you
3. If you are unhappy in your career, you can make a plan, you can invest in yourself, and you can invest in your wellbeing
4. Acknowledging if you’re looking for work and you take something only because of money, you’re complaisant
5. Understanding the era of learned helplessness is over

KEY TAKEAWAYS

HOW CAN ONE HAVE A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP WITH WORK?

First, understand that you are the only person who can fix work for you. Next, if you are finding that you are taking jobs based solely on the income you are earning, fix your relationship with money. By fixing how your relationship is with money, uncovering your own money story, and working on that relationship, the relationship with your career will change drastically.

WHAT CAN I DO IF I AM UNHAPPY WITH MY CURRENT JOB? SHOULD I JUST QUIT?

If you know that a job is a bad fit, you don’t have to take it. But if you do take it, it doesn’t have to be a forever job. If you start a job and it turns sour on you, I know the easy answer is to quit, but it’s not the only answer. You can make a plan, you can invest in yourself, you can invest in your wellbeing, you can invest in your learning, and you can use that job as a platform. But you do have to get the hell out of there. There is no leadership without self-leadership.

LAURIE, I NEED SOME STRONG ENCOURAGEMENT AND INSPIRATION. LAY IT ON ME!

You have a role to play in your own unhappiness and you need to explore that. Whether it’s through counseling, whether it’s through therapy, whether you talk to a member of the clergy or just a good friend. If you’re working in a job you hate, that eats your soul alive and compromises your values, figure out why and stop making the same mistakes over and over again.

Stop taking shit at work, stop feeling like a victim, and start to live a life that you’ve always wanted. Make some baby steps. That’s my hope for you.

You fix work by fixing yourself. Build a life that you love, a life that you enjoy, a life that has meaning or doesn’t, but it’s a life on your terms and your terms alone.

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