Do you want out of your corporate job or career? Is your gut telling you it's time to get out and find or create a work life that's fulfilling, creative, less stressful, and more balanced? If you answered yes to the above questions, welcome to the new, conscious, and intuitive world of thought on creating or finding a meaningful work life--a work life you love. There's an evolution taking place, a conscious evolution, and if you fit the above description, it's likely you're becoming conscious, too. Don't fret; it's a good thing and will help you on your path to finding fulfilling work you love. Stay with me here. If this doesn't already make sense to you, it will in due time.
Let's face it; it's difficult and frightening when we're considering leaving any job or career. We fear what will happen to us, to our families, and to our lifestyle as we contemplate walking away from a secure position to seek out a much more fulfilling job or career. But, deep inside, something is telling us we must make this change. We must move on to work we love, work that's fulfilling, and work that makes us happy. We fight it for a period of time, but eventually we come to the knowing stage.
In the early stages of coming to this critical point in our lives where we know it's time for us to move on to work we love, we don't always understand what drives us to that knowing. That driving force is our soul, our inner spirit, our inner wisdom, more commonly known to most of us as our intuition. We've all heard the sayings "trust your gut" and "gut feeling" and "I had a feeling" among others, and most of us really never knew what they meant. We simply accepted them without giving them much thought because they are sayings that have been handed down from generation to generation. But now, the world is becoming much more conscious, much more aware, much more attuned to what we now know is our intuition, inner spirit, or inner wisdom, and its purpose is to guide us to what is right for us and away from what is not.
"The only real valuable thing is intuition." ~ Albert Einstein
In other words, we often unknowingly start down our spiritual or conscious path when we're under a great deal of stress and are experiencing some type of crisis or loss. When we get to that point where we just can't take it anymore and we know we want and need out of the job or career we're in, it is a time of crisis because of the stress and fear involved with such a major life change. Keep in mind we don't all come into this consciousness through a work or career issue or change, but this type of change is imperative to our living a fulfilling life, so it does come up for many, many people, and it often is where we start on our path to consciousness.
Millions of us worldwide are coming into this knowing, this new understanding and consciousness that revolves around being present and paying attention to everything we're feeling and everything we're attracting into our lives on a daily basis. It becomes very personal. It's about trusting and having faith in yourself and your God, Universe, All That Is, Infinite Intelligence, whatever you refer to as your higher spirit. The best part is that you are finally becoming aware that your intuition (inner spirit or inner wisdom) is a valid and beneficial source of guidance for you. And, what most people don't understand is that we all receive nudges and opportunities and guidance every day of our lives but until we experience that knowing or aha moment, we remain unaware of its presence.
So how do you leave your corporate job-or any other type of employment that drains your energy and is no longer serving you well? That depends on you because every one of us is different and responds differently to different situations. That said, below I offer you ideas that apply regardless of who you are.
Some of us just decide to walk away and once out of the stressful job take time to sort out where we want to go and what direction we want to take. Others start to search for other positions in other companies they think will fit the bill. Some want to stay in the company they're in but find more fulfilling work within it or perhaps work with or for people they can better relate to. Still others pursue a passion for a business they've always wanted to try. Although you are the only one who can determine what path you'll ultimately take, here are some guidelines I like to offer to people in this situation to help them de-stress, clear their head, and look at finding something new and that they love by seeing their situation through a whole new lens.
First, I don't recommend just quitting your job without some other form of income coming in. Although it's hard to stay when the job just isn't right for you anymore or you're sure you can't withstand one more day of being around your boss, it's best to take some time to come up with an alternative before pulling the plug. The best way to do this is to begin to focus on the solution and positive options rather than continue to focus on the problem-your present job.
How? Take some time when you're away from your work place and go where you can be alone and where you won't be interrupted. Sit down with a pen and paper or at your computer if you like, and ask yourself the following questions. (Be sure to write down your answers according to how you feel when considering each question. Be thoughtful and do the work. What does your gut tell you? How do you feel when you read each question?)
The questions are:
1) Do I want to stay with this company but apply for a different position? (Perhaps in another department or under a different manager? If so, what's available that I would like or love?)
2) If I definitely want out of this company, what is it I'm looking for? What do I want? (More reasonable hours, more time for myself, work that is fulfilling and that I love, more time to spend with my family)
3) What companies have philosophies that are aligned with what I want? (a collaborative environment for management and employees at every level, a creative environment for all employees, creative and flexible scheduling for recharging "personal" batteries and/or family responsibilities, more room for advancement)
4) Do I know anyone who works for any of these companies? What questions should I ask when I contact him/her to inquire about potential job openings? (What do they like about the company? How long have they been there? Is there room for advancement? Is there collaboration between management and employees?)
5) Do I want to start a business of my own? What am I good at? What am I passionate about? What are my strengths for being my own boss and running a company? How would I fund my start up?
6) Am I willing to move from my present location to start over with a new company out of state? (Or should I start my own company in a location more suitable or does it matter with this type of business? Will my spouse/significant other and/or family be happy and willing to move?)
These are just a few of the questions I often recommend people ask themselves and they vary so they're applicable to various life situations. When you take time to focus on the solution to getting out of your present job or career, you'll find a lot of your own key questions will come up, too. The most important questions to ask throughout this process are "How do I feel?" and "What does my gut tell me?" Ask yourself these two questions immediately after asking each of the questions above or whatever questions you come up with that you are guided to ask yourself about your job or career situation.