Putting up with a less than satisfactory job

This year I’m surrounded by the ‘mutterings of friends, family and acquaintances’, who are just putting up with their lot work and career wise, as they only have 10 years or so until retirement.

My husband is quite a few years older than me, so many of his friends and colleagues are starting to gear up to retirement (which is the last thing on my mind). It is a standard joke in our household that hubby will be doing the caravan trip across Australia, while I’m still expanding my business to help serve more people.

To be honest the talk of retirement does not terrify me, nor does the prospect of officially heading toward the ‘middle age’ years. What terrifies me at the moment is that syndrome of resignation, putting up with and simply waiting for a future (namely retirement) that currently surrounds me.

What happened? At what stage did people shift from optimism, goal setting and ambition to resignation. Why do people ‘give up’ on ever achieving their dream job?

Don’t get me wrong – I get that there comes a time in reckoning when you might become more cynical and are acutely aware that you are no longer young.

BUT to give up and put up with your lot for 10 – 15 years or more, just because retirement is looming (or for any other reason) is madness. The way I see it:

• You will spend 19,200 hours doing something that you don’t really enjoy.
• The stress associated with doing something you don’t like will impact on your health.  Stress leads to age related damage to DNA, which means this will not only impact on your looks, but longevity (so you will have less retirement time).
• Working in a job that is less than satisfactory impacts on your personal and family life.
• You might not even get to the future.
• You miss out on the opportunity of being in a job you really enjoy.

Now if this is you, I already know you have a large arsenal of excuses. You are too old to change, too old to get a new job, as people won’t employ you because you are over 50, or the job is not that BAD.

But these are just excuses and 10 years, or a lifetime being in something that is less than satisfactory is a LONG TIME.

Imagine having a job that:

• Allows you to be your true self most of the time
• Fits into your life
• Allows you to tap into your unique gifts
• Gives you energy, instead of draining you
• Enables you do what you love
• Helps you to make a difference
• It is enjoyable and it does not seem like work
• It fulfils you

Making the change can be tough. I can guarantee you will face rejection, you will need to step out of your comfort zone and you will have to work hard to achieve the goal.

But imagine the rewards?

Instead of ‘it is only 10 years to retirement, so I’ll put up with it’ – retirement becomes irrelevant and comes on your terms, as you LOVE what you do!