It’s easy to feel like life has just swept you along and that you didn’t end up doing what you thought you would when you were young. Because work is such a large part of our lives, such uncertainties often come down to the following question:  “Am I in the career that I was meant to be in?” 

To find the answer to this important question, and to learn how you can do something about it, keep reading:

You dread going to work

Each morning is a struggle. You find yourself just lying in bed, wondering, “How did I end up here, doing this?” and “Is this all there is to life?” There seems to be little real motivation to get up at all.

How it should be:

It’s a complete myth that you have to hate going to work! Moreover — if you actually enjoy what you are doing, you’ll be good at it! As Malcolm Forbes of Forbes magazine said:

“I think the foremost quality – and there’s no success without it — is really loving what you do.”

Your only motivation to work is money

The paycheque at the end of the month is all there is to it. Other than that, you really can’t find any reason why you would be doing this work.

How it should be:

What you do for a job defines you. Isn’t it true that the first thing anyone ever asks is: “So, what do you do for a living?”. Your work should be something that gives your life some meaning — something that defines you as a human being — and not just a source of money.

You don’t really see any point to improving your skill set

You don’t feel motivated to be better at your job, expand your skill set, or learn new things. The very thought of learning more about your job bores you.

How it should be:

“The people who make it to the top,” said Quincy Jones, “are the ones addicted to their calling.” People who regard their job as a calling feel excited about getting better at it — about becoming the best at what they do!

You daydream about doing something else

You constantly find yourself wondering about ‘what could have been’. Sometimes, you even search for those jobs online, just to see what is out there.

What you should consider doing:

It should not be ‘what could have been,’ but ‘what can still be’. You only live once, so don’t spend half of that life doing something you aren’t meant to do. It’s never too late to switch your career! You always have options.

You feel unhappy about work, even when you aren’t at work

Work seeps into your personal life. You feel listless and depressed, even over weekends. Your work affects your health, and detrimentally influences your personal relationships.

How it should be:

Countless studies have found a correlation between job satisfaction and both physical and mental health. As Johnny Carson once said:  “Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself.”

So what do you do now?

What you do for a living is intimately tied up with who you are and what you get out of life. So it is essential to do something that you are good at, enjoy, and find satisfaction in.

For your own happiness, it is important to realise that it’s never too late to change careers! Scary as this might seem, you should also remember: none of your experience will ever be wasted. In fact, a diverse background can give you a unique edge in your new field. Need an example?

Working as an accountant? You could study a business management course, and use your accounting experience to become an insightful manager with hands-on experience!

Studying via distance learning is one of the best ways to make such a career shift. You can live a life with options by studying part-time from home, without having to quit your current job. Moreover, Oxbridge Academy’s distance learning courses are all vocational skills programmes and qualifications – which means that you will get work-related training that is directly applicable to your profession.

Note: This post was originally posted on 22 July 2015, and has been updated for comprehensiveness and accuracy. Updated by: Mia Arderne