Do you love your job? According to a Gallup poll, there is a 64 percent chance that you don’t. In fact, there’s a 24 percent chance you actually hate your job. Nearly two thirds of those surveyed have no love for their workplace, but that doesn’t mean you have to fall into this category.
Whether you’re an office drone or do-it-yourself entrepreneur, here are four ways to find happiness in your current career or in a new venture:
1. Solve a Problem
There’s a popular saying in business that goes, “Don’t hire me to do a job. Hire me to solve a problem.” It’s easy to fall into the day-to-day lull, even if you’re self-employed and feeling like your work isn’t making a real impact. Find a problem in your office or in your own business and take it upon yourself to create a solution. Finding a new purpose can reinvigorate happiness and help improve your career.
2. Take a Pay Cut (Seriously)
The problem with success is that sometimes it can be so blinding that you ignore you own happiness to chase zeros on a check. By the time you’ve reached the top, it’s only then that you realize how miserable you really are.
You don’t have to change careers to be happy, but sometimes changing positions, even if it means less pay, can lead to a better quality of life. And if you’re a small business owner, maybe that “pay cut” simply means easing back on growing your own business for the sake of more time with your family or even just more time for yourself.
3. Earn a Side Income
Sometimes money, or a lack thereof, can be the source of frustration and unhappiness. A good career that doesn’t earn quite enough is still a good career and hard to give up, so opportunities to earn a side income are more than ideal.
Multilevel marketing companies are popular for outgoing women because of their flexible work environment — allowing you to pick your hours or work from home — and income can vary depending on how many hours you’re willing to work. One option is looking into the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial opportunities offered by Amway. Another option is to blog about your passions and see where it takes you. There are plenty of “mommy bloggers” out there who make a great living doing just this.
4. Enhance What You Know, Drop What You Don’t
The phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” is often accurate, as trying to be everything will eventually leave you with nothing. If you’re a great writer, then focus on writing and leave the accounting to someone else. If you’re great with people, then handle sales or human resources. And if you’re great with numbers then head right back over to accounting and delegate the rest to good people you trust.
This isn’t just good for business. Focusing on your craft keeps your attention on what you love and leaves what you don’t to others who are willing and able to handle it better. Plus, it also gives you the focus and drive to master one thing instead of trying to master many.
