It's about doing meaningful work that is true to your values

Remembering What Was Good About A Bad Job

bad good memoriesLast weekend I spent time with a friend that I met when I was at a not-so-favorite job. Let’s just say that particular job had many challenges. And not the exhilarating kind that lead to career success and personal fulfillment.

I hadn’t seen this friend in a long time and it popped into my head that her friendship was one of the best things I got from that job. We had a lot of fun while we helped each other cope.

That made me want to remember the other positive outcomes that came from a difficult work experience. Here are a few:

  • I am passionate about the projects I managed and am proud of what I accomplished.
  • I got to explore two specific types of marketing that I was less familiar with. I built solid skills in those areas that gave me the necessary qualifications for future work.  
  • I formed friendships and trusted relationships with colleagues that are still important to me.

These benefits are obvious to me, and I acknowledge them when they impact me. When I thought about it more I realized there are less obvious and more personal benefits:

  • I learned what my boundaries are and sharpened the line between what I am and am not willing to do to succeed in business.
  • I finally accepted that business isn’t always fair. Accepting this killed some of my idealism. However, it affirmed the type of businessperson I am and made it easier to detach from the fairness of an outcome that is not in my control.
  • I changed my definition of success. Climbing the corporate ladder is only one way of evaluating success. There are many different ways to be successful in business – not to mention in life.

It takes time to recover after leaving a negative job, just as it does when leaving any significant relationship that was painful. If you’re recently out of a tough work situation I hope that you allow yourself to be angry about what wasn’t right and grieve for the hopes you had for that role.

Eventually, I hope you will also remember what you gained.

claimthepositive

 

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