The trouble of thinking twice

Before doing something about feeling unhappy at work, a lot of us have probably been told to think twice. Depending on your situation and how you act upon it, this can be good or bad advice to follow.

Thinking twice is sometimes bad advice because it can be all the encouragement we need to do nothing. To suppress feelings of discontent and dissatisfaction can lead to inaction and create resentment further down the line. Ignoring the feeling that you could be happier elsewhere avoids the question. Similarly, if you ignore the feeling that you might be more fulfilled doing something else because changing jobs is difficult or because a new job might be worse, an important opportunity to learn more about your relationship with work can also be lost.

Thankfully, thinking twice is not all bad news because, when nudged in a different direction, thinking twice is probably the best advice you can follow. Feelings of dissatisfaction or discontent are never a solid career strategy on their own so taking time out to explore where they come from is a good thing to place ahead of re-writing your CV or worse still walking out on your job.

When you think twice, consider questions like: "What is frustrating me about my current job/career?", "Are any of these frustrations temporary or down to me?", "What do I like about my current job/career?", "What other jobs/careers will let me do more of this?"

The list of individual questions is pretty much endless so thinking twice can be difficult for knowing where to start. If this is where you feel you are right now, here are the favourite three questions of this blog to offer a starting point and begin a lasting conversation around your values, talents and goals: What is important to me?, What am I good at? and What keeps me going?

If you have a question of your own or anything else that you would like to say, send an email, leave a comment or take part in our new reader poll at the top of the page!