How To Transition from the Daily Grind You Hate into a Career You Love  

Nothing is more uncomfortable and lonely than knowing you are living the wrong life.

Last year, I had accomplished one of my biggest goals to date: I had finally ended a 20+ year educational career by completing my MBA. After the celebrations had died down, I realized that school would no longer be allowed to be an excuse. From here on out, I would have to start seriously pursuing and creating my career — no pressure, of course!

My graduate degree was vastly different from my undergraduate degree. After receiving the latter, my initial plans had been to pursue journalism, then advertising and public relations — but those ideas fell flat when I realized a big pay cut would be required. So, with a flexible and well-paying job throughout school, I decided that instead of losing money for the sake of my dreams, I would spend more money and head back to graduate school. (Student loans don’t exist if you don’t talk about them, right?)

After graduation, I decided to stick to my new career that I had accidentally created within the finance world. And initially, I enjoyed it; I loved helping people with their finances, and thought that my chances of having a better paycheck would be higher. Needless to say, when I landed a Senior Financial Analyst position, I was all the feelings associated with being an accomplished adult.

But very shortly after I started — and by that I mean about two months later — I realized one very distinctive and unwavering feeling: I absolutely hated it.  To wake up every day and hate what you actually do is an incredibly isolating feeling; I lost all of my ambition and enthusiasm, and suddenly felt this intense sensation that I didn’t matter anymore. It was in this moment that I dug deep to question into where and when I went so wrong.

Childhood Dreams vs. Adult Reality

As a kid, it’s easy to imagine the possibilities of what your life will be like, because we live in the fantasy that everything will fall into place. If you eat your vitamins and are nice to people, all of your dreams will come true, right?  Not exactly.

While there are the select few who start with a dream and pursue it with reckless abandon, for the rest of us life is a bit of a reality slap after college; we had pursued degrees that looked great on paper, but then had to take the jobs that pay the bills. Somewhere along the way, our aspirations to become a meteorologist or a veterinarian may become secondary in the name of a paycheck.

But doing this isn’t wrong or bad, it’s practical and can be a great opportunity to get to the next chapter of your life. Instead of resenting your cubicle job you took over pursuing a career in fashion, figure out a way to channel that energy into taking you where you want to go. Above all, the number one mistake you can make in this crucial and potentially pivotal moment is to instead accept this current state of affairs as your life.

Step 1: Dig Deep and Get Uncomfortable

Millions of people hate their jobs every single day, so how are you different? Just because you recognize you loathe Mondays for a different reason than someone else, doesn’t mean you will wake up and your nightmare will be over. This initial realization will only be the beginning of a long and terrifying journey of self-realization and acceptance.

So the first step in changing your professional life is to define why you dislike your current job and what you want out of your dream job. This part will be overwhelming, no doubt, but as we are all so painfully aware, the first step to fixing the problem is recognizing that it exists.

Next, think about the following scenario: if someone called you tomorrow and said, “Congratulations! You have just be hired to pursue the job of your dreams!” what would that job look like? While being realistic about this, also don’t be afraid to voice what you want out of your career. After all, you’re the one who has to pursue it, not your family, friends or anyone else in your life.

I cannot reiterate enough how crucial this part of your career change and potential life change is. If you do not define where you have been and where you want to go, how the hell do expect to find it?! Do it old school, and jot it all down. Then hang that piece of paper up somewhere you can see it every single day to remind yourself of it when self-doubt comes creeping.

Step 2: Make It Your Full-Time Job to Chase Your Career

I stole this (paraphrased) quote from the insanely successful Grant Cardone. He once said that to get the job you want in little to no time, you have to also make pursuing it a full-time job.  So while there is nothing wrong with casually scouring job boards until you see something that piques your interest, when you’re terribly unhappy in your current position, you don’t have the time or energy to passively wait for perfection.

In sales, they say 30% of the leads you convert into prospects will never close — for a variety of reasons both in and out of your control. If that holds true in your new career search, then you’re going to be looking for a job for a lot longer than your motivation will last. Therefore, every second of your free time needs to be focused on finding your new job, tweaking your resumé, creating countless cover letters, and putting in some of that 1930s work ethic.

You’re going to hear crickets. You’re going to get rejected and it’s going to take time. But every time you want to give up, just remember that piece of paper holding all the details of why you wanted this in the first place, and keep grinding on.

Step 3 (the final step): Act Like Your New Job is Your First Job

Finally, after countless days or even weeks of job-searching, your dream job has opened the door and greeted you with open arms. But the journey isn’t over just yet.  We all remember our first jobs quite vividly, and it’s likely you also remember the eagerness you had to do it.

This is the exact same enthusiasm you need to bring with you to your new job. You just busted your you-know-what for countless days trying to get this, so be grateful for this new opportunity, and show it. Ask for more work, stay late, come early, be excited and prove to them why you deserve to be there above the person they turned down for you.

Knowing What You Love is Knowing What You Hate

Being at a job I hated made me realize what I valued and loved most in a job: I now knew that while money was important — and, practically speaking, at the forefront of my mind — it certainly wasn’t everything. That realization wouldn’t have ever happened until I hated my old job.

This is the same sweet solace you can take when you’re sitting in that gray cubicle, fighting back the tears. Let yourself go there (by no means, of course, should you let it control you or allow it to take you to dark places — that’s a bit too far). But most of us are perhaps so afraid to feel uncomfortable or dig deep that we jump the gun on a new job offer, and find ourselves in the same situation we were just in, without having fixed anything.

Always remember that you’re not alone in your struggle to find your purpose and your passion. We’re all fighting a battle to discover our little place on this massive planet.  Just make sure you find yours for you, and no one else.