Can you ever be truly successful if you don’t have passion for what you do? Even if you end up with a hefty bank balance, you still might find that the best parts of you have been depleted. A life with financial freedom but no ability to enjoy yourself is a poor existence — but you can change that. If you are willing to look deep within yourself, you may find that the things you love can pay off in more ways than one.
Emotional Wealth
There are many ways to gauge professional and personal success. Being happy at work is one of these. According to a study on the workplace by Léger for Hamster, workplace happiness is achieved by feeling accomplished and having positive interpersonal relations. If you have none of these things, you are probably in the wrong place and lacking in the very important department of emotional richness.
Some people fill their emotional stores with creativity or fitness. But if you have tried these things and still long for more, take a closer look at your profession. Determining a fresh path can be a struggle, but you have resources. For instance, you might get a ballpark idea for a better direction from an online evaluation.
The Search Begins
Even if you do not desire to go back to school, you can still change careers. The search begins by identifying opportunities that spark an interest. Don’t underestimate the power of your network. Think back to conversations you may have had with acquaintances who work in an industry you’re interested in.
Outside of your network, you can always check sites like Craigslist for both job postings and freelance work. The Huffington Post notes that one benefit of working as a freelancer is that you can take on gigs outside of your regular working hours to test out a variety of options until you find something that you don’t want to stop. A few examples of freelance opportunities are web development, marketing, copywriting, project management, and tutoring.
Thought Catalog notes that the key is to find something you’re good at and that you enjoy enough to use as a source of income without letting criticism spoil it for you.
Start Your Own Business
You may decide that instead of working for someone else, you’d rather work for yourself. If so, the ZenBusiness starter guide has plenty of tips for you! After all, starting a business is an exciting prospect, and if handled correctly, it could become a very lucrative venture. However, turning an idea into a viable business will require some work. In fact, you may be surprised by how complicated certain aspects of business ownership can be.
For instance, if you want employees to help you run your business, then you’ll need to set up a payroll system. Payroll is the process of paying your employees, which requires you calculate their gross pay and make any necessary deductions. But it doesn’t stop there — you’ll also need to keep accurate records of these payments. And to ensure you’re in good standing with the IRS, you’ll need to file and make payroll taxes on time.
Although this information may seem intimidating, you can often find freelancers, software, and online guides to help you manage all the details. Don’t let any of this deter you from following your dream of starting a business that you’ll be proud of.
The idea of changing careers can be daunting. But you have to ask yourself which is worse, being unhappy for the long-term or being temporarily uncertain? Before you answer, keep in mind that how you feel at work doesn’t stay there when you leave. Instead, your negative emotions follow you no matter how far away you get from the cubicle. Workplace unhappiness can chip away at who you are until you no longer have the strength or courage to live the best version of your life. Remember, dead ends go nowhere, but you have the power to turn things around.
Kanika Chadda-Gupta is a wife, mother of three, and CEO of Kronologie Agency, a full-service digital marketing firm specializing in branding and web design. As a former television anchor for CNN, she is a born storyteller and host of the top-rated podcast, That’s Total Mom Sense where she interviews industry experts on parenting, lifestyle, and wellness. For more information, click here.
Guest post by Karen Weeks
