Are You Just Dragging Yourself to Work?
by Sha Nacino
Author of Is It Time to Quit Your Job?

I was in a coffee shop one afternoon. I looked around and it was empty. I had the entire coffee shop to myself.

For an introvert like me who recharges by being alone, that was a piece of heaven. Mellow music played in the background as the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted into my nose. I don’t drink coffee but I love to smell its aroma.

I looked for a comfortable area to work, placed my laptop there, and spread my notebooks and pens. The entire coffee shop was mine. What a beautiful treat!

With a smile on my face, I went to the counter to place my order. I cheerfully greeted the attendant, “Hi, miss!”

She had a poker face, as if I disrupted her from her quiet time. Maybe she woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I thought. I just smiled at her and gave my order.

“One hot chocolate and one chocolate cake, please.”

She didn’t respond. She just took my order and received my payment. There was heaviness in her demeanor. Suddenly, the entire atmosphere changed. I didn’t feel welcome in the cafe. I initially planned to stay there for four hours and write, but as soon as I finished my chocolate drink and cake, I left and looked for another place.

Can you identify with that person? Do you just drag yourself to work and stay in your job because of financial considerations? If so, you are doing yourself a disservice.

You deserve to be happy and fully alive. You are a human being and not merely an economic being. You are more important than the money you make.

If you drag yourself to work and produce mediocre results, you are doing your company and your clients a disservice too! What if someone else is more competent and willing to do your work? If you quit, you pave the way for someone who can give justice to the company and do a better job.

If you just drag yourself to work and produce mediocre results, you are also doing society a disservice. Because you are not using your talents to the fullest.

This reminds me of Mike.

Mike and Anna were in a relationship for more than two years. They loved each other. But one day, he realized he was no longer in love with Anna. (Mike thought that love was a feeling, rather than a decision.) Mike thought of breaking up with Anna but he just didn’t have the courage to do it.

So his calls and texts became less frequent. He no longer initiated their dates. He became passive in the relationship. Anna was hurt. She sensed Mike’s coldness with the way he treated her. She exerted effort to make the relationship work, but it fell on Mike’s numb heart.

Technically, it was Anna who broke up with Mike but only because she was the one who had the courage to face reality and do what she thought was right and fair for both of them.

Are you like Mike, the Limp Coward? You’re no longer happy with your work. You’re no longer productive but you can’t find the courage to quit. C’mon, be fair.

Are You Drowning in Stress?

I remember a conversation I had with my boss a few months before I quit my job. We were in her car one afternoon on the way to Manila Polo Club for our company’s inter-color badminton tournament.

Just a bit of a background. Prior to that car ride, there was a major restructuring in the entire company. They dissolved our entire sales team in the head office, laid off some employees, and randomly transferred some of my colleagues to different branches. I volunteered to be laid off but instead, I was transferred to one of the busiest branches of the bank.

While she was driving, she asked me, “How are you, Sha? Are you happy with your work?” At that point, I had to think fast. Should I be honest with my boss or should I give a safe answer? I decided to be honest. I said, “I’m happy with my colleagues. I’m happy with your leadership. But I am not happy with my job.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Let’s put it this way. Let’s say that my sport is badminton. It’s what I do well and love to do. But I was asked to swim even if I don’t want to and I’m not good at it. And every day, I drown in stress.”

Another awkward silence. My boss was big enough not to take it personally. We still had a good working relationship after that conversation. When I finally quit my job a year later, my boss even organized an event within the branch  where she invited me to give a talk on personal financial management.

If you feel you’re being unfair to yourself, your company, or your clients, I invite you to think things through. Maybe you’re in a dilemma of whether you should quit your job or not. In the next chapter, I’ll give you a test that will help you make up your mind. I call this The Ultimate “Quit Your Job” Test!

ACTION TIME

Date yourself. Go to your favorite coffee shop or park. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I being unfair to myself, my company, or my clients?

2. Is there a better way to use my time and talent other than my present work?

This article is an excerpt from the book, Is It Time to Quit Your Job? A Guide Before Making That Big Career Shift by Sha Nacino.

Featured photo by Jadon Barnes on Unsplash 

DON’T QUIT FOR THE WRONG REASONS!

ARE YOU SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR JOB? Do you want to quit and do something else? Is your boss giving you unreasonable amount of stress? Is there too much gossip, politics, and negativity in your workplace? Do you feel unappreciated, overworked, and underpaid?

Don’t quit just yet!

This book will help you take a pause and assess if quitting your job now is your best option. Based on her own employee-to-entrepreneur shift, Sha Nacino gives you tips on how to:

• Love your job even if you hate it
• Discover and develop your unique core competency
• Make money without quitting your job yet
• Plan if you’ve already decided to quit, and many more.

Business owners and human resource professionals, this book is also for you! Take time to understand the pains, joys, problems, fears, and dreams of your employees so you can care for them and retain the best ones.

AVAILABLE NOW at www.kerygmabooks.com/shop! Click HERE to get a copy of Is It Time to Quit Your Job? by Sha Nacino.