Why You Should Appreciate Your Job and Your Intuition

I’ve talked about it before, but it takes practice to remove yourself from the busyness of the everyday and to be grateful for the life that you have. I mean between commuting to work, working a full time job, exercising, and family obligations, WHO has time to step back and be like “Wow, I’m so lucky for my job, for the people in my life, bla bla bla.” I don’t.

It’s also more likely that when you do have time for something, it’s going to be sleep or some other form of winding down (reading something you like before bed, or catching up on your favorite television show).

But even if you don’t practice gratitude, these moments don’t necessarily escape you (watch the video above, please!) Whether it’s the expansive nature of the beautiful blue sky, or the incredible presence of a baby, or the fact that you’ve noticed that you’ve changed for the better, these transient moments remind you that stepping outside yourself and the busyness of email, work, and life IS worth it.

So in an effort to ramp up the gratitude factor in your life, here are two things you can appreciate right now.

1. Your Job – Even if your job is not your favorite thing in the world, be grateful for the fact that your job is putting food on the table and keeping a roof over your head. Something has to meet your basic necessities and right now, your employer is probably doing so. On a more complex level, be grateful for the skills that your job is teaching you. Are you more tech savvy as a result? Have your become a report wizard? Have you met someone that can help you in the future? Digging even deeper, how does dealing with a difficult client or a difficult boss help you? Does it make you become more thorough or more proactive? There are two sides to every coin, and because you spend so much time at your job, it’s worth finding those golden nuggets.

But if you’re miserable and can’t wait to walk out the door, realize that you are not stuck and that you do have options. This thought right here should make you smile. Some ideas to consider: Odesk, Hire My Mom, Career Meets Life, Spare Hire, andEtsy. Something big always starts small, so even if you start freelancing on the side, one day, that could replace your job income.

2. Your Intuition – Is really a lot smarter than you think. It guides you and tells you what it thinks about what you’re doing, EVEN if you ignore it.

Here are some examples of your intuition working wonders:

• You have to do a report for work and you procrastinate to no end because you just hate doing it. This isn’t you being lazy. This is you just hating the report.

Is there anything you can do to change the process? Can you pass on the report to someone who might enjoy it so that you can focus on tasks that are aligned with your strengths?

• You have to chat with a client about a deliverable that you recently sent them and you are dreading the conversation because they always pick at this and pick at that and micromanage. You try to keep a long-term perspective and tell yourself that they are paying you for work, but that does nothing to stop you from wanting to disappear minutes before your next meeting with this client.

Michael Port of Book Yourself Solid suggests that you dump your dud clients which he defines as “those you hate interacting with, who drain the life out of you, bore you to tears, frustrate you, or worse, instill in you the desire to do them – or yourself – bodily harm, despite your loving nature.” Port says that once you get rid of these clients, you’ll have clean energy to do your best work, and you’ll feel invigorated and inspired, and you’ll connect to your existing clients on a deeper level.

Well there you have it. Your job and Your Intuition are two things to appreciate. Because even if things are not completely right, both are helping you navigate your life to a better and more optimal spot. It’s up to you to listen.

What are you grateful for?

We’d love to hear from you so share your thoughts in the comments.