Why Do You Have a Job? Five False Beliefs that Lead People into
Jobs they Hate
If you find yourself stuck in a job that you don't enjoy or in a
company that isn't fun to work for, the first step to making a
change is asking yourself, "How did I get here?" Your being here
at this time in your life is not a random event. You have made
choices and decisions along the way to get here. Your individual
journey has led you to this exact point. And you are not
broken. You don't need to be fixed. No one is to blame. You have
made choices based upon beliefs that you have held. And beliefs
are nothing more than thought habits. They are ideas that you
have thought over and over again until they became a belief.
Like an old record, you may be stuck in a groove or a belief
that no longer works for you.
So, before you decide to leave your job or company or make any
change, it is a valuable exercise to pause for a moment and
examine your beliefs. If you don't take the time to do this, you
will make choices based upon old beliefs and end up in the same
place.
In working with my coaching clients, I find that there are five
key beliefs that lead people into a job that does not bring them
joy. I will outline them here.
Belief #1: Money: Getting a corporate job is the best way to
make money. We are all conditioned to believe that having a job
is the best way to make money by our parents, teachers, and many
well-meaning adults. There is a systemic belief in our society
that a job is the best path to wealth. It is simply not true.
You will never make significant wealth (of the retire early, be
completely financially free, lack of money doesn't guide my
decisions type of wealth) by going to a 9 to 5 job.
I often read stories in mainstream magazines of people who
retire early by having two income earners in the family, living
extremely frugally, and saving almost all of their earnings for
retirement. Not a really fun way to live in my estimation!
I would rather earn lots of money doing what I love on my own
time schedule and not waiting until I retire to have fun. Can I
do this in a regular job? I couldn't. I was making a six-figure
income working insane hours and traveling constantly. I made
less money early in my career doing the 8:30 to 5:30 grind but I
wasn't having any fun and I spent every dollar that I earned.
Why can't you good make money in a job? First, only the top
echelon of workers make over $100,000. The system is set up this
way - as a pyramid. The corporate pyramid has lots of low-paid
worker bees and only a few high-paid executives. Second, you are
taxed heavily on earned income. The tax system is designed to
benefit corporations. Third, you don't get any residual income -
once you stop working, the dollars stop coming. You aren't
building up any passive income streams. You may design a product
or software for your company - but the company gets the passive
or residual income from your efforts.
Equity = wealth. All equity goes to the shareholders. It is
great to work in a company that offers its employees an
ownership stake - in fact I wouldn't consider working for one
that doesn't. The only downside is that you don't have control
of most of the decisions being made. I know many people who have
been downsized out of tech companies because the leadership team
made bad decisions.
Belief #2: Responsibility: I should get a corporate job - it is
what a responsible adult does. Once again, this is a belief that
is drummed into you early. It goes something like this - study
hard in school, get good grades, get into a good college, maybe
get a graduate degree, get a prestigious job and the money and
success will flow to you. This is the path that responsible
people choose.
I choose this path. Did well in school, B.A. from University of
Virginia, MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. Money and success
did flow to me. But I was overworked, uninspired and getting
burned out and depressed. Is being at work all the time, getting
burned out, and depressed what a responsible adult does? I don't
think so! Yes, I have a responsibility to provide for my family
- but if there is a way that I can do this without sacrificing
my sacred family time and peace of mind - don't I have a
responsibility to follow that path?
Belief #3: Importance: If I get a high-paying job and an
impressive title, I will be important. Interview 100 successful
people and find if money and title really made them feel
important inside. You might find 1 or 2 who will say yes, but
this is a false belief. We are important because we are here.
We all have the same amount of source energy inside of us. Call
it "God", or "energy" or "goodness" - whatever resonates with
you. I believe that as physical beings, we are on the leading
edge of consciousness and our job is to create. We create by
being in touch with our source and choosing actions in alignment
with our joy. The only thing that you will take with you when
you cross over into the spiritual world is your expansion of
consciousness. You will not take any physical possession or
title or award. You will only take your soul and the wisdom it
has acquired during this physical manifestation.
Belief #5: Security: I will be secure if I have a good-paying
job. If you know anyone that has been fired, laid-off, or
downsized you know that this is not true. Yet, so many of us
want to play it safe. We let our fears guide our decisions
rather than taking risks and following our bliss. When you have
a job, you are at the mercy of your employer. You may be
laid-off with your entire department or fired because a superior
doesn't like you. It will be random and out of your control.
True security comes from being your own boss.
Belief #4: Enjoyment: I will enjoy working in the corporate
world. I chose a job in strategy consulting because I was bored
with all of my other jobs - both in the public and private
sectors. I thought - now this is something that will challenge
me. To get a job in consulting I needed to get an MBA - so I
did. But I did not enjoy strategy consulting. It was
intellectually challenging but I didn't enjoy the corporate
environment. It seemed too artificial - not real. I couldn't be
my true self - I could only reveal the smart, logical and
masculine part. I wasn't having fun putting on my corporate game
face and playing the game. It is possible to enjoy a corporate
job if the work and environment are in alignment with your true
calling. Unfortunately, it is rare.
Take a moment to reflect upon the above beliefs. How did you
choose a corporate job? Were you following a belief or several
beliefs? Or were you following your heart and intuition? Do you
still have this belief or have your beliefs changed but your
circumstances not changed?
Before you take action, work on replacing your old beliefs with
new, positive ones that serve you better. Meditation,
journaling, and positive affirmations are good ways to control
your belief system.