Look, we have all been there at some point. We know the feeling of waking up every day with the knowledge that half of your waking hours will be spent in a place you hate. Maybe it’s the work or perhaps it’s the people. Whatever the reason, you hate it all the same and it’s time for you to leave. There is nothing wrong with this. People seeking to better themselves is what makes the world go ’round and there is no reason you can’t be happy with your role in it. With the limited time you have left in this job, let’s talk about what you need to start embracing now.
- The Suck
Military people have a phrase that is often not heard in the civilian world. That phrase is “Embrace the Suck.” People in the military have a uniquely refined ability to make the best of miserable circumstances, be it war or peacetime. I’m here to suggest that there is a certain amount of joy to be gained if you can do the same in this job you hate. Learning to embrace the suck teaches you that you don’t have to wait before finding the little joys in life. There are miserable aspects of your current job and that’s why you hate it. However, if a Marine can focus on the cold bottle of water he is drinking rather than the hot desert sun he’s standing under, then you can find some joy at your job while admitting some aspects of the job are less than pleasant. The truth is, your next job is likely to have a little “suck” to it as well. So you might as well learn to embrace it now so you can enjoy greater happiness down the road. - The Experience
Usually, a person doesn’t decide they hate their job on one day and find a new one the next. It’s typically a process that can drag on for months, if not years. After all, people have bills to pay and if they have families, their kids have gotten used to eating every day and not just some. So what do you do while this miserable job experience drags on? I suggest you become a hungry connoisseur for every experience you can get. Your boss may or may not know your days there are numbered, but you do. You know that there is a new opportunity just on the horizon, so it’s time to get ready. When you start embracing experiences for the sake of building more competence, then these last days of the job work for you instead of you working for them. Embrace the experience as a path to freedom. - The People
This is sometimes a catch 22, as it’s entirely possible that the reason you hate your job is, in fact, the people you work with. I have come to believe that people can endure a lot if they enjoy the people they’re enduring it with. However, life is almost always a relational event and learning to embrace the most difficult of people can give you an unprecedented resilience in life. Your dream job will be as filled with imperfect people as the one you now hate. When you learn to embrace these imperfect people, you’re building your skillset to enjoy your future dream job while making this current one more bearable. Moreover, you never know when a key relationship will help you down the road. We get to interact with a precious few of the 7 billion people in this world during our lifetime. It’s best to make it a rule of thumb to make each interaction count.
So there you have it. 3 things to start embracing now before you quit the job you hate. If you do, you’ll prepare yourself for a future without precedent. It’s just around the corner after all.