Thinking about quitting your job?
If so, you’re in good company. It’s all the rage these days to “quit your job and go be your own boss!”
On a weekly basis I find myself in a conversation with an individual who is talking about how they want to quit their job or asking me when I want to quit my job to be a full time writer, blogger and entrepreneur.
But my answer is always ‘I’m not planning on quitting my job.’
Usually with this response comes puzzled looks and the individual kind heartedly telling me that I’m ‘good enough’ to be a full time writer. Don’t get me wrong, the dream definitely includes being a writer. But right notwI can’t afford to quit my job to write full time but I don’t mean that in financial terms.
The truth is that I love my job as a nurse in the ER and I have no plans to quit. I am privileged to work at an institution that provides me with a plethora of opportunities to grow, advance and develop skills. For that reason alone, I can’t afford to quit a job that is teaching me and training my in ways that will benefit my future endeavors, whatever they may be.
If you don’t love showing up to your job everyday, once again you’re in good company. I get it, I’ve worked jobs I hated and just wanted to find a way out. But instead of showing up everyday at your job and hating it, go into it looking for what you can learn. Seize the opportunities that present themselves to learn tricks of the trade in other areas like leadership, communication, skill set, entrepreneurship and more.
If you know that leadership is not one of your strong skills, the next time a project or opportunity comes up at your work place, volunteer to be team lead. Use your job as an opportunity that grow and sharpen skills the will serve you well in professional endeavors down the road.
If you’re not great at public speaking, volunteer to lecture on a certain topic. If you aren’t great at delegation, assume a role within your team on a given project that will force you to learn delegation.
You get to learn while you are on the clock, how cool is that? The skills that you accumulate at your 9-5 will serve you well in your own endeavors so don’t discount them just because you’re not jazzed about your current job.
You may be thinking about quitting your job and that’s ok, but before you do, think again and make sure you’re not walking away from some amazing learning opportunities at the job you have now.