Are You the Reason You’re Not Happy?

Sometimes looking inwards can be painful. Nobody likes to take a good, hard look at their unhappiness and conclude, “Oh, I know what the problem is: me.” For office professionals, who are constantly bombarded with challenging tasks, personalities and environments, it’s easy to place blame somewhere else.

The reason I’m unhappy is because corporate has me shoved over here in the corner of this noisy office between the bathrooms and photocopier. The reason I’m unhappy is because Larry Rittenberry sits next to me and will never shut up, which wears on my nerves to the point of a breakdown. The reason I’m unhappy is because my boss has me doing things that aren’t remotely within my job description.

Take a step back and breathe. Look in the mirror. Be candid with yourself. It may turn out that the world, in fact, is not out to get you.

This article explains, “Julie Redfield, talent management expert for the PA Consulting Group says it’s very easy to blame some external factor for why you are not happy in your career. ‘The company doesn’t treat me well’, ‘My job isn’t challenging’, I don’t have the right tools to do my job well’. While all of these may be true statements, you need to own situation and take action to resolve the issues.”

As we all know, acknowledging the problem is the first step toward fixing it. So if you are unhappy at work, take a look at yourself at the ways you can fix your situation. Being passive about your unhappiness will only lead to further unhappiness.

Photo courtesy of rich anderson.