I’ve said that one of the keys to happiness is working in a job you like, or better yet, having an occupation that is an expression of who you are.
But many folks aren’t sure what it is that makes them happy, and are stuck at jobs they don’t like.
When you’re at a job that is making you unhappy, many people internalize that they should quit, but they don’t do it.
And why is that?
If happiness is so crucial to living a Low Density Lifestyle, and being happy at the job you have is an integral part of happiness, then why don’t you quit if your job is making you unhappy?
Even if you long desperately to quit, to get away from your horrible workplace, annoying co-workers or abusive managers, you may hesitate to actually do anything about it, because right on the heels of that impulse come a lot of other thoughts that hold you back from quitting.
And a lot of the thoughts are fear based.
Each of these excuses may sound to you like the voice of sanity, offering perfectly good reasons why it is in fact better to stay and endure that bad job just a little longer.
But those excuses keep you trapped in a job that is slowly but surely wearing you down and cementing your existence in a High Density Lifestyle.
And so, here are 10 of the most common excuses for staying in a bad job.
1. Things might get better.
That jerk manager might be promoted out of there. That annoying co-worker could quit.That mound of overwork could suddenly disappear.
On the other hand, things might also get worse. Or they might not change at all. If you’ve already done your best to improve your job situations and nothing has happened, just waiting around for things to improve by themselves make little sense.
2. My boss is such a jerk but if I quit now, he wins.
Who cares. This is not about winning or losing, this is your life. Move on, already.
3. I’m not a quitter.
Guess what these somewhat successful people have in common: Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Tiger Woods, Reese Witherspoon, John McEnroe and John Steinbeck?
They all dropped out of Stanford.
The old saying that “Winners never quit and quitters never win” is just plain wrong and leaving a bad job is just common sense.
4. I’ll never get another job.
Well not if you stay in your current job while it slowly grinds you down, you won’t. Move on now while you still have some self-confidence, motivation and energy left.
Yes, quitting a job carries a price and that makes it scary. We all know this intimately.
But few of us ask this question: What is the price of staying in a job that makes you unhappy?
That price can be very high. It can not only ruin your work life but also your marriage, your family life, your health, your self-esteem and your sanity. Not all at once, but a little bit every day.
6. Everywhere else is just as bad.
That’s just nonsense. There are plenty of great workplaces in every industry.
7. I’ve invested so much in this job already.
You may have sacrificed a lot of time, energy and dignity already in attempts to make things better. This will make it more difficult for you to call it quits.
This is similar to how the Nigerian email scammers sucker people in. At first it’s a small investment, but then the amounts grow and grow. At each step the victim is reluctant to stop because that would mean losing all the money they’ve spent so far.
Quit anyway. Staying on is just throwing good time after bad.
8. I’ll lose my health insurance.
Ok, so start looking for another job with similar health benefits.
Also, ask yourself: What good is job related health insurance if your job is actually making your sick – which bad jobs can absolutely do.
9. My job pays very well.
Here’s the plain truth and the stark reality: it doesn’t matter how well your job pays – if it makes you unhappy it’s not worth it.
And if you make a lot of money now, use that financial security to quit and find a job that’ll make you happy.
Whereas staying for years in a job that grinds you down and goes nowhere will look excellent.
Most people would be much happier if they quit bad jobs sooner, and for those who have done it they usually say that they wish they had done it much, much sooner.