Children love toys!
Do you know what children love even more than their toys?
New toys!
My nephew will spend weeks, and months if needed, begging for a new toy that he “had to have”. He will come up with a million reasons why he should have this toy, and will argue that everyone else in school had this toy so he should be the only one without it. Once he has his eyes set on a new toy, his old toys are no longer good in his eyes, and he easily found flaws in all of them. The old toys will get tossed around and mistreated. The new toy on the other hand will be perfect. Even if his current toys are in fact better, in his eyes the new toy will be faster, cooler, and of better quality. When he finally gets his new toy he will take it everywhere with him for a few months (at most) until another new toy comes along. Then the will cycle repeat itself. He will mistreat his current toys based on the assumption that they are not as good as the new toy that he want. It’s can be frustrating for me, but more so my sister, to watch him put more energy into acquiring new toys than into enjoying the toys that he currently owns. We try to teach him to view his old toys in a positive light despite the fact that he has his heart set on a new toy, and to avoid Greener Grass Syndrome but he just stares at us like we each have 4 heads. Hopefully this will become a lesson that he remembers when he becomes an adult. The good news is that you are not my nine year old nephew, and you won’t have to wait years to understand how the constant desire to find greener grass can be detrimental to your career.
Seeking to improve your circumstance is healthy but like everything else in life, there are always pros and cons to every situation. Your need to improve your circumstance does not always have to derive from a bad or unhealthy situation. Your need to improve your circumstance can merely be the result of having something good yet wanting something better. On the other hand, your need to improve your circumstance becomes detrimental when the root of your desire is unrealistic. When it comes to your career you do not always have to settle for the “devil that you know”. Before you assume you are settling you must first determine if there is even a “devil” to deal with. You should take the time to thoroughly evaluate your current employment situation so that you can pursue new employment rationally. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to run to a new job, burning their bridges, because they assume that their new job is “perfect”. In a few months they begin to realize that the grass is not really greener on the other side, and regret that they did not hold on to their old job a little longer. So how do you know if you’re making the right move by pursuing a new job or if you should hang in there a little longer for an opportunity that is in fact beneficial? Consider the following before you write off your current job. You should take piece of paper and write down your responses to each of these questions for both your current job and the new job that you are considering.
- Is your current job toxic? If so, what makes it toxic?
- By showing up to work every day are you putting yourself closerand closer to achieving any of your career goals?
- How often are you learning something new at work?
- When is the last time that you learned something new at work?
- How excited are you about doing your work?
- How does your role make a difference in your field?
Why wasn’t salary included in this list? Salary is always a motivating factor but your primary motivation to find a new job or career should align with your career goals. If you need help creating your career map, or help with identifying career goals sign up for our next Career Mapping Workshop. You will get $10 off just for reading this blog by using the following code: Greenland10. This offer is valid through March 25th.