Being Happy in a Job that Isn't Your Dream Job

Our happiness doesn't rest on our dream job and dream life. It rests on our decision to simply BE [happy]. Stay focused on your goals and dreams but be thankful for what you have right now and keep making moves in the direction of your desires.

{Image Source: Fashion Bomb Daily}

We all have goals and dreams. We all normally have stepping stones and road blocks we encounter along our journey to get to them. Outside of having faith and the hard work ethic, we have to make sure our attitude is right. We have to be happy; positive. We have to constantly remind ourselves that things and situations don't make us happy, WE make ourselves happy. Positive things, more money, nice things and great situations are a byproduct of BEING happy. I was reminded of this recently as I grew frustrated with my professional life this year. I felt at my age I should be in a different situation professionally and making a certain amount of money. I started letting these feelings eat away at some of my happiness and went astray some. I began to feel resentful and overlooked the fact that I even had a job that made it possible for me to support myself. I also began to let these things drain my energy. This did a number on me and it took me getting sick multiple times and finally a painful ear infection to get me to "listen" to what God/the Universe was telling me. I was losing sight of my journey, allowing my vibration to be lowered and blaming it on outside factors.

I read a comment under a post on The Deliberate Blog recently that spoke to me. Melody, the author of the blog, gave advice to a young woman who wrote her asking how to break up with her boyfriend without breaking his heart or coming off as mean. They weren't a vibrational match anymore because over time she raised her vibration and he hadn't (and didn't seem like he wanted to), and she wanted to let go without breaking his heart. The advise she gave was great but the part that rang through my heart and pertains to the points I'm trying to get out was a comment one commenter left. I knew it was the Universe's way of getting through to me about the importance of our attitude and who's responsibility we give it to: "The best thing you can do is by focusing on you feeling good and being in alignment, regardless if he feels good or is in alignment. Your alignment is not dependent on his alignment. Your alignment only depends on whether you allow yourself to feel good or not."



How does this pertain to your job? Well, your job can be viewed as a relationship. Just like people enter relationships for different reasons, they also enter relationships/partnerships called jobs for different reasons. Maybe when you first took a job for the potential it had for amazing opportunities and you were excited about the possibilities. Over time your focus changed and this job no longer matched your evolving focus so it's not your dream job. Maybe you took a job solely out of necessity and now you want a job that really is what you want or pays what you want. No matter your initial choices, your job, rather it's good or bad, can't make you FEEL any type of way without your permission. This includes feeling frustrated, resentful and ungrateful. Our ability to feel good isn't dependent on anything, it's a decision we make to allow ourselves to be. In spite of horrible things, you can decide to be happy. In spite of happy things, you can decide to be miserable.

It's fall time in the Northern Hemisphere! {Image Source}

This doesn't mean that you have to stay in an environment that you don't like. You have the power to not let it, the environment, affect you and you have the ability to change your environment. Your stepping stone job may suck but you don't have to let it bring you down. You don't have to accept any energy or emotions that you don't want. We are so much more than our jobs and careers; there are more layers and dimensions to us than just those. It took an ear infection for me to "hear" the important message better: "Do your job and do it well. Be thankful for your job and live your life well. If you don't like the job you have now then simply take the steps necessary to find a new one that better resonates with you." Look for a new job, expand your network, go back to school, learn a new skill or trade.  Whatever it is you have to do to move onto the next level, do it. Move from a place of power, don't let it get you down. This is something I need constant reminding of.

I cannot let my stepping stones bring me down. What's for me is for me and it will come together when that time is right and I have to trust God/the Universe knows the perfect timing. In the meantime, I can choose to be happy now. Why wait? It also reminds me to, none the less, be grateful for what I do have and what my job does afford me right now- the ability to pay all my bills, build an emergency fund (I just want to be able to save more), pay off my debts and even have a little fun (of course I want more fun!). Many people have jobs that don't cover all their basic needs. Many able bodied people are without jobs and they want to work; they'll even take one they don't like! So the energy of gratitude must always be present. Our happiness doesn't rest on our dream job and dream life. It rests on our decision to simply BE [happy]. Stay focused on your goals and dreams but be thankful for what you have right now and keep making moves in the direction of your desires.

I know it's not always this simple but that's why like showering is needed daily to keep clean, sometimes we need reminders of this daily to keep positive and focused. I know I do!

Be empowered. You got this. I've got a new attitude and am going to create a daily reminder of sorts for myself. When I determine what that will be, I will share it with you all. We are all in this together and many of us are on this journey to our dreams. Just don't wait to smile until you get there. Smile right now and keep smiling all along the way. I'm not where I ultimately want to be professionally or financially just yet but I'm making strides everyday and get that much closer everyday. I'm thankful where I'm at professionally and financially right now. I'm thankful I have a job right now that allows me to support myself fully right now. I'm thankful with the money I'm making from my job right now that I'm able to live BENEATH my means. I'm thankful that I'm able to donate a little bit of it each month with others. I'm thankful for where I'm at right now and I'm thankful for how far I've come. I will have what I want and I'm choosing to be thankful and happy right now. You can decide to feel this way too and it's totally free.

Milan is a New York City based, creative writer and the founder of AGrlCanMAC. She's a self proclaimed accessories junkie who's passionate about healthy living, adventure, books, crystals, the Law of Attraction and arts & crafts. AGrlCanMAC is a resource for women of color all over the world who want to look good, radiate good and feel good at the same damn time.

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