5 Questions to Ask about Your Job

Do you like your job? Do you have a good salary and good benefits? If you became independently wealthy tomorrow and all of your current and future expenses were covered, would you continue going to that job? Do you look forward to getting up and going to work every morning or do you dread it? If you’re still reading, my bet is that you don’t like your job, but for some reason, you feel stuck. Maybe your job is stable. Maybe the money is fabulous. Maybe you don’t have to do much work. Maybe you have a health problem and you’re not willing to walk away from good health insurance. Today, I want to challenge you to reconsider staying in a position that doesn’t fill you with joy. Think about these things:

1. Time. If you work from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday, and you spend two hours in the morning getting dressed and getting to work and one hour in the afternoon getting home, you’re investing 60 hours a week into that position. However, there are 168 hours in every week. Assuming you sleep eight hours a night, you have 112 waking hours a week. So, you’re spending more than 50% of your waking hours working and getting to and from work.

2. Well-being. When you’re at work, do you feel good about what you’re doing? Do you believe in the cause? Do you like your coworkers? How does your boss make you feel? Thinking about the fact that you spend over 50% of your waking hours at work, do you like feeling this way half the time that you’re awake?

3. Your example. How do you behave around your family in the morning as you’re preparing for work? What work related stories are you sharing with your loved ones? How’s your Sunday afternoon? Does your mood turn sour as you think about Monday morning?

4. Your legacy. Would you sit down with your son or daughter and encourage the child to do what you do? Children pay close attention to what you do, more so than what you say. Several years ago, a pediatrician asked my oldest daughter if she wanted to be a lawyer like her mom. My daughter said, no, because my mom complains too much.

5. Your money. Are you being paid what you’re worth? Are you able to meet your current obligations, save for your future and spend money on some luxuries? Do you have to work overtime or a second job to make ends meet?

I want you to ask yourself these questions and consider whether you like the answers. Discuss these topics with your spouse or your best friend. If you don’t like your answers or the whole discussion makes you uneasy, tune in next week, and I’ll give you some suggestions for creating an exit strategy.