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By Corinne K.

We spend the majority of our waking hours working. When we break down the work we do, we find that there’s the work we enjoy – this is the stuff we signed up for – and the things we don’t care for so much. If we’re going to spend all this energy at our jobs, it’s important to at least do more of the work we love than not.

So let’s say, for instance, you’re responsible for client services at an advertising agency. (I’m speaking from personal experience here – talk about what you know, right?) You may have taken the gig because you like working with people, enjoy being involved in the creative process and thrive in the fast-paced environment. Then there’s the other side of the coin – the tasks you’re not particularly fond of – clearly demonstrated by the pile of paperwork you’ve been avoiding for a week. Maybe it’s chasing clients for overdue invoices or that project that was started months ago, has gone back and forth a million times and will likely get shelved.

Here’s the thing. Nothing is perfect. Not people, not situations and not work. The key is to strive to include the things in our lives that make us happier a higher percentage of the time than not. As long as the good outweighs the bad (and I would argue significantly so) the better off we are. If you’re frustrated half the time and happy the other half, you really need to decide if that’s enough happiness for you to continue what you’re doing.

So what do you do if you’re feeling a little blah about work lately? What if you’re on the fence as to whether or not the job you have is something you still want to be doing a day, month or year from now? Here are some things to help you get your butt off the fence:

1. Focus on the good. Sometimes we get into a rut when it comes to our work. When things seem to be going wrong, or we’ve had our job for a while, it’s easy to get jaded and focus on the negatives. We can make mountains out of molehills. When we continue to focus on all the bad things, we no longer have the ability to remember what we like about our work. Try to focus on the positive instead of sliding into constant complaining – look at the stuff you like about your job and see if that changes your perspective. Again, we’re not looking to love our jobs 100% of the time but there has to be more good than bad.

2. Talk it out. Sometimes, we’re honestly ready for a change but we get accustomed to a ‘new normal’. Our ‘new normal’ may be dragging ourselves out of bed every single day to go to a job that doesn’t inspires us or make us even remotely happy and leaves us drained. We convince ourselves that everyone feels that way and that we don’t have much of a choice in the matter. That’s when it’s a good idea to get a fresh perspective. Talk to someone you can trust to be honest with you about how you’re feeling – someone who isn’t afraid to tell you if they truly think it’s time for a change or if you might just need to step back, refocus and reframe your situation.

3. Speak up. Another reason why we might be feeling stuck at work is because we haven’t talked about what’s bothering us with the people that are in the best position to help us out. If you’re not feeling challenged enough in your position, is there a manager you can speak to about getting some new responsibilities added to your role? If there’s too much on your plate, is there someone you can talk to about helping to reduce your workload? As satisfying as it can be to commiserate with coworkers after work over beers, if we’re not making a real attempt to change our circumstances, we can’t expect anything to change for the better.

4. Recognize that you aren’t your job. Try to make a conscious effort to leave work at work. Give yourself some time to unwind when you get home as opposed to running through your to-do list in your head or stressing about things that are out of your control. We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be the absolute best at what we do, at all times, but we need to realize that work is simply a part of our lives. Just because we aren’t great at something at work doesn’t mean we’re not great people.

Join Corinne K. on February 25^th from 6:30 – 7:30 at Integrative Health Institute for Job Love: Getting Unstuck At Work. We’ll talk some more about the myths about work that we need to chuck in order to fell better about what we do. Register here

Corinne K. works with stressed, busy and driven women. Through energy healing and soulful coaching, she helps them slow down and feel better physically and emotionally. She helps them get real about what they need to feel more free, inspired and empowered in life.

When she’s not working she’s probably sitting on a patio somewhere with a glass of wine or a London Fog, traveling or wandering the city. For more about what she does, check out corinnek.ca.