4 signs you should quit your job (& why it’s essential self-care)
Back in 2012 I worked in an office in a career I didn’t love and I was the biggest stress-head you’ll ever meet. I had zero self-confidence so I overcompensated by being on a non-stop diet and always trying the next punishing exercise fad. I thought if I had a 6-pack my life would fall into place. What I realise now is that it was freedom I wanted, not a 6-pack.
Now I have my own business helping women feel great about their bodies without the need for harsh diets or hard-core exercise. I am a personal trainer, health coach, yoga teacher and Reiki Master and I spend every day doing things that I love. I hardly recognise myself!
Can you believe that the average person spends between 75,000 and 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime? And if you’re not happy there, that is time wasted.
I spent almost 20,000 hours in an industry I really didn’t enjoy and it absolutely took a toll on me.
I ended up in hospital multiple times with a chronic illness, I developed a daily drinking habit, that while it wasn’t full-blown alcoholism, it was certainly more I was really comfortable drinking (and it took me 6 years to kick it to the kerb!) And probably the worst thing was I became a grumpy, whinging, low-vibe person and no fun to be around.
Fast forward and now I help women feel great about themselves and one of the things they like best about me is how positive I am! How’s that for a turnaround? And none of that would’ve been possible if I didn’t quit my job and follow my heart.
For many of the women I help, the number one thing that holds them back from living a life full of energy, passion and purpose is their job. It’s the long hours. It’s the toxic environment. It's working in an industry that doesn’t light them up.
And this takes a toll on their health, their vitality, their mood and their happiness. I don’t know about you, but I believe we only live once (in this body anyway) and life is too short to be miserable. Plus, when we are unhappy it leads to destructive patterns like eating too much, drinking too much, being really hard on ourselves and not taking time for self-care.
So, here are 4 signs you might need to change your career. If you find yourself nodding your head to more than one of the signs, please download my free cheat sheet “5 steps to becoming your own boss and living a life you love”
1. Getting out of bed is hard… even on the weekends
I remember that feeling… the alarm goes off at some ungodly hour. You’ve set the alarm the night before with pious thoughts of getting up to do some yoga or go for a walk. But when that thing starts making its noise all you can think is, “I’m exhausted… I need more sleep!” So you keep hitting the snooze button until the very last minute.
This is a sign that you are out of alignment with your work. That’s why it can be hard even on the weekends to get up. You are spending most of your time and energy forcing yourself to do things you don’t really enjoy. And that’s exhausting.
Most mornings now, I will bounce out of bed (okay, okay, bounce might be exaggerating slightly) because I love what I do and I want to get started. And by the way… I hardly ever set an alarm because I’ve arranged my day doing what suits me at a time that suits me. It’s very different from working for the man!
2. You have zero time for yourself or the things you love
Have you been to yoga lately? How about opening up that craft box? When was the last time you got a massage? Or perhaps you never have time to cook proper meals? What is that thing you never get to do because you are either at work or too tired to do it after work?
I know we all need money, but it’s quite ironic that “making a living” can actually stop us from living our lives!
I’ve now made my career out of the things that I never had time to do before - yoga, meditation, hanging out with like-minded people and living my healthiest life (while not expecting perfection). And I promise you can do that too! Download the free cheat sheet to learn more.
3. Deep down you know you are no fun to be around at work (or anywhere else for that matter)
I used to get to my desk at around 8.30 am and then whine all day. About my work. About the bosses. About my energy levels. About eating crappy food. About bad dates I’d been on. About EVERYTHING. And then when I got home I’d write negative status updates on my Facebook page or go out for drinks with a friend and bitch about work.
I was NO FUN! (Are you?)
Nowadays, people love my positive disposition and I must admit, I like myself much more too! This is what happens when you spend those thousands of hours of your life doing what you love.
Does this feel like something you want to cultivate? Do you want to go back to being happy?
4. You’ve lost interest or belief in the industry that you work in (or you never had it to begin with).
This one is HUGE. Perhaps you work in a fast food joint but you believe in eating whole food? Or you manage an office but you love the outdoors. Maybe, like I used to, you work in the beauty industry but you can see how they play on women’s insecurities and make people feel bad about themselves to make money.
Unless you believe in the industry in which you work you will never feel like jumping out of bed in the morning and you’ll never be the happiest person at the office.
And that’s what I’ve loved about having my own business, I get to align to my values and do things that I believe in every single day.
So, beautiful one, how many of these signs can you relate to? Is your heart telling you to ditch your job? I can imagine your head is screaming “I can’t do this!” And I get it. So I made this cheat sheet of the 5 things you should do before you quit your job, become your own boss and live a life you truly love!
And I also understand that you might still wonder why you should quit your job at all? And what does it have to do with self-care?
Long-term stress is not good for your body, for your health and for your mindset. And mostly, it destroys confidence. And this can hold you back from what you’re here to do.
What if you’re meant to change the lives of other people? It’s never too late to make changes in your own life and the lives of others.
So lovely, tell me in the comments what you love to do most in this world and I’ll help you brainstorm an idea of how to turn that into a career!
And don’t forget to download the free cheat sheet “5 steps to becoming your own boss and living a life you love.”