Are you unhappy in your current job? Do you feel as though there is no way out? Do you dread going into work? If the answer is ‘yes’ to all or any of these questions, then you are possibly stuck in a rut. Maybe, it’s time to make a move!

I remember when my brother came home one evening at the age of 18, looking terribly solemn and upset. I asked him what the matter was and he quietly replied: ‘I hate my job; I feel trapped into it. I don’t want to be doing this for the rest of my life, but I don’t seem to be able to see anyway out of my situation!’ I could not believe that someone could be so affected by a job and get so low about work. It seemed as though his whole world had collapsed and life was simply the dreaded nine-to-five experience.

Millions of people worldwide today similarly feel stuck in their jobs with no way out of them. It’s almost as if they have signed their lives away to do something that they don’t want to do but have to keep going in order to survive. However there is always a way out of any situation and your job and career does not have to feel like a daily chore. There are alternatives and avenues out of any situation. You only have to look for them.

How it happens
Getting in a rut may not happen overnight, it may be years before you get to a point in your career where you start to dread waking up in the morning. David Lee worked as an account director for an advertising company. He initially started as an account executive, taking care of advertising campaigns for corporate clients and being responsible for placing their adverts in all types of media, at the best price.

As an executive his job was fast paced and highly pressurised, he had to work to the strictest deadlines and he enjoyed the pressure, which kept him stimulated. He was very good at his job and was promoted several times until he reached the position of account director. This was when his career unexpectedly took a nosedive and he started to dread each working day.

David explained; ‘Here I was with loads of money, loads of responsibility and highly respected, yet I started to resent going into work every day and started looking at my life with bitterness. I didn’t have any more goals to reach in my company, I soared to the top rapidly and life was dull. The passion for my job left me and I simply was bored and did not know where to go next.’ David slipped into depression and was more and more reluctant to go to work, so much so that he started to call in sick! Eventually one morning he realised that this had to stop, he went to work and resigned; ‘I really could not take it anymore, I had lost the passion for my job, I had got stuck in a rut and knew I had to get out!’

David went on holiday and had time to think about his next move. He promised himself that he would never allow himself to be put in that position again and even though at the time he was jobless, he felt free to move in a new direction and felt excited again. He had always had a passion for water sports and decided to see if he could get a job as at a water sports centre. Within three weeks he was working as an assistant water skiing instructor, within a year he was helping to run the school. Five years later he now owns his own water-skiing school and feels free to move in his own direction and work at a pace that he finds fulfilling.

I can remember having a job in telesales for a newspaper, selling advertising space day in and day out. The job was extremely boring and boredom leads to stress, and stress often leads to depression. I can remember waking up every morning and dreading the journey to work, thinking that there must be more to life than sitting on the telephone trying to persuade people to place an advert in the paper. Every day was the same for me, monotonous and routine and after a year I felt trapped and definitely stuck in a rut. I knew I had to make a move, there were others in the job that had been there for years and they continually moaned that they felt trapped in their job having families and financial commitments to see to. So I took the bull by the horns and decided that I had to go to night school to take a course in journalism. After six months I gained a recognised certificate, which allowed me to go for the career that I really wanted.

Sally Pwee was a swimming teacher at an international school in Singapore. She really enjoyed her job but wanted to push herself further and needed to earn more to allow her to have financial freedom. After three years of teaching Sally felt fed up with the daily routine of her job, although she still gained some satisfaction she realised that if she stayed in her position she would never be financially better off. Sally decided that the only way to get out of her situation was to go it alone.

She set up her own independent swimming school. She had already secured an excellent reputation and many individuals were willing to sign up; ‘I could not believe how many people wanted to join my school, it was very encouraging and made me realise I had to go for it,’ Sally explained. Five years later, Sally has twenty-five employees, enjoys financial satisfaction and being her own boss. ‘I enjoy every day of my life, I don’t see it as a job, more a way of life, I used to be stuck in a rut and felt I could never push myself further, but anything is possible with dedication and the right attitude,’ she enthuses.

Every job has its good and bad points, no job is perfect and sometimes you may feel trapped in a situation that you think there is no way out of. However, these individual experiences illustrate that there can be a way out of any situation. Plodding on in a career you are not happy with is unhealthy, it’s not good for you and it’s not good for any company. For many making a move can be a daunting prospect, yet there is no reason for you to spend another day unhappy. Life is far too short and seeing that we spend most of our life working, it is imperative that each day is a good one. Be positive and be proactive, think about what would make you happy. When getting out of the rut you are in, the last thing you want to do is to walk right into another rut. Take time to think about your next move, ensure that it is feasible and then go for it, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain! Good Luck!