TIME TO RE-EVALUATE YOUR CAREER GOALS AND WHY YOU DISLIKE YOUR JOB

Here’s how to disconnect from the idea that disliking your job is normal and take pride in your work again.

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SAY GOODBYE TO MONDAY BLUES
Do you think that Mondays suck? If you dislike the start of the week, it doesn't just impact this first day of your week.

No, hating Mondays affects your Sundays because you are dreading the next day. You rush Mondays to get them over with, and for what? To count the hours until Friday afternoon when you don't have to think about work for an evening and a day?

This doesn't have to be your normal. In fact, it shouldn't be. You have only a finite number of days on this planet, so wishing them away and spending most of them unenthusiastic about how you're spending them seems like a waste of that precious time — and isn't helpful.

The belief that having a job is just something you've got to do so that you can pay the bills doesn't have to govern your life. You can enjoy your 40-hour work week, and you can make Monday mornings something you don't dread. In fact, they can be something you look forward to.

SO HOW DO YOU TRANSFORM THE BLUE MONDAY?
By taking pride in your work and changing your perception of your job. "While your workplace environment does contribute to your level of engagement and satisfaction with your job, the real determining factor of whether or not you're happy in your role is you," explains Classy Blog, an online empowerment platform.

“With the right frame of mind, you can markedly improve your happiness and overall well-being, no matter your role.”

If you dread Mondays and watch the clock until 5pm, it’s time to take a deep dive and answer some questions:

• Do I feel that I’m stuck?
• Am I taking full advantage of the opportunities around me?
• Do I value the work I’m doing?
• Do I dress for success?

Answering these questions can shift the way you see your daily role. You can now go to work with a new, more positive mindset.

REMEMBER, YOU’RE NOT STUCK!
Many people think that they are stuck in their current job, so they begrudgingly show up every weekday because they don’t have another choice. You do have a choice. It is within your power to go on the job hunt or put your hat in the ring for another position.

However, before you do this, you’ve got to figure out whether a new job is really the answer to the way you’re feeling.

There is a name for achieving a goal but the result isn’t that your life completely changes, and you feel 100% better about things. It’s called the “arrival fallacy”, a term introduced by positive psychology expert Tal Ben-Shahar in his book Happier.

In an article for Forbes.com called ‘Why Reaching Your Goals Can Surprisingly Make You Less Happy’, life coach Melody Wilding states: “When we get too caught up in future outcomes, we may attach it to an unattainable illusion of perfection.

We seek goal after goal, hoping something will make us happy, which reinforces a cycle of self-doubt and not feeling ‘good enough’.”

This cycle can result in you always looking at external factors – your job and romantic relationship, for example – to complete you. So, honestly and carefully review any thoughts that you may be having that a new job will be the answer to all your problems.

REALISE THE OPPORTUNITIES YOU ALREADY HAVE
Ambika Sharma, founder and managing director of lnstappy (a mobile app creation platform), explained to Entrepreneur magazine that taking pride in your work is about noticing and realising the opportunities around you to learn, improve and thrive in your role.

“Invest in not being a paper pusher. Be the person who creates value in everything that has your involvement.”

Build better things – from that email communication process to that department you may be setting up. Read, explore, self-learn; do more, and do it better.

Build your reputation, embrace the opportunity to grow and be proud of it. You don’t have to approach every day in a robotic way as you watch the clock.

See where you can put your own unique spin on things. One employer told online career platform The Muse that she likes to promote people who look for solutions and don’t just complain about problems.

“Brainstorm feasible, reasonable solutions to the problem you have. When you present it to your boss, launch right into what you recommend as a solution.” Approaching your job in this way can help you recognise your aptitude for the work that you do, and the difference that you make.


RECOGNISE THE VALUE THAT YOU BRING TO YOUR COMPANY
The work that you do matters. If it didn’t, then your job wouldn’t exist. Embrace your role and approach your tasks enthusiastically with the knowledge that because of your effort, the business can thrive.

This isn’t a one-way street, though. It’s important to also notice the rewards you’re getting from putting in effort at your job – and they’re not just in the form of your salary and bonuses.

Working hard benefits you too. When you challenge yourself and approach tasks with an open mind, you learn more about your strengths and the areas you need to work on. Also, working a 9-to-5 job is a great opportunity to network and showcase your skills.

When you take pride in what you do and recognise your value, more people will want to approach you.

As Elite Daily points out, if people have great experiences working with you, they are more likely to refer you to someone else. Or better yet, they may employ you themselves.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Take pride in your appearance. How you show up physically at your job can impact both the way you approach your work and the way others perceive you. This phenomenon of your clothes influencing your mood and confidence is called “enclothed cognition”.

An article in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology explained how professors at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the US did an experiment using a lab coat and a painter’s coat.

The subjects that donned the lab coat (associated with doctors) showed increased sustained attention. That is, the symbolic meaning they associated with the coat influenced how they performed tasks.

Research also shows that appearance strongly influences other people’s perception of your financial success, authority, trustworthiness and intelligence.

Also, “what you wear not only communicates who you are in the minds of others, but also influences your level of career advancement,” says Jacquelyn Smith of Business Insider.


TEXT BY Paula Rabelling
Images: Shutterstock, Pexels