Do you hate where you work? Many people would have 1 of 2 sage pieces of wisdom:

1) “Suck it up, cupcake!”

2) “Take this job and shove it!”

Well, those might work. However, many of us don’t have the luxury of these finite options, do we? What about the single mother raising 2 children? What about the sole-source provider, a father with a wife and 3 children?

Economically, many families are in a situation where both family members are required to work simply to exist at a comfortable life style. Not only is this a travesty, but can lead to all sorts of other problems like declining health and souring relationships - all due to increased stress over having to work.

Take Inventory:

My suggestion is fairly straight-forward. You have to look around and assess the situation. Take stock of your assets and liabilities. Generally we find that our education does not permit us to change careers or some obstacle in life attempts to prevent us from reaching our goals.

Obstacles not Barriers:

People face adversity all of the time. Life is hard folks! However, many people allow obstacles to become excuses for “why not”. After you take inventory, you have some choices to make. When I was 21, I was faced with the prospect of doing something I was settling for - living half of a life.

What was my answer to that?

I gave up 4 years of my life and joined the military.

This may not be feasible?

After I left the military, I spent 5 years going to night school to get a degree.

I can’t afford a degree.

Start networking. You may have to take a job making less money, but at least you will be working in the field you enjoy.

The list could go on and on… Don’t allow obstacles to become barriers.

The Merry-Go-Round:

Think about a merry-go-round. As you start it, it takes a good bit of energy. However, as it takes off it requires an ever decreasing amount of energy to propel it faster and faster. And to maintain a speed is even easier.

As we progress in life, if we make choices that move us closer to our dreams we find our life becomes easier and easier. However, the converse is true if we allow ourselves to move farther away from our dreams. The energy to keep the merry-go-round going becomes increasingly harder simply because our other responsibilities take focus away from our original vision of keeping it spinning.

The Bottom Line:

Take your life into your own hands. As we move forward in life, there are a declining number of choices. Don’t bemoan your position in life; believe you can overcome your obstacles.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: Career Advice, Hate Work, Obstacles not Barriers, Take Inventory, The Bottom Line, The Merry-Go-Round