Is your job giving you a life you love?

Sometimes you look at your kids and you can’t believe how much you love them, then the next day you love them a whole lot more.

I can’t believe I spent so much of their lives commuting and working obscene hours, missing out on watching them grow up. It does make me a little sad, although I also know that at the time we made the choices that we thought were the right ones for us.

I mean, what do you do when you’ve got a good career in a job that pays well, you can travel where you want, go to nice restaurants, buy nice things, you don’t have financial worries, it’s easier to keep going because it's safe, it's known.

The reality is that deep down you feel that there are other avenues in life you'd like to explore that would probably make you happier, but unfortunately you continue to choose to sell your soul to the devil each day instead.

When I returned to work after having my eldest, my husband and I were both commuting 15 hours a week, both working full time on the other side of Sydney. Our little girl was in day care 11 hours a day - she was the first one to arrive at daycare in the morning and the last one to be collected at night, she had every meal there 5 days a week!

Our family wasn't unique by any stretch, I know plenty of friends that were (are) in the same boat as us – it’s what you do when you don’t have family nearby and you’re reliant on outside help.

I remember one public holiday when we all had breakfast together as a family. My husband and I both said how nice it would be if we could do that at least once a month (yes that’s not a typo, ONCE A MONTH – it wasn’t much to ask for huh?!?). At the time it seemed like an impossibility, that it would never ever happen.

There comes a point when you need to ask yourself whether you're prepared to keep on going the way you are or are you going to do what makes you happy?

Making the decision to make a change and leave my well paid (and life-sucking) job has completely opened my eyes to the past, present and future. Our family unit was always strong but it’s much stronger now, it’s made us appreciate that it’s what you’ve got in the here and now that counts, not constantly striving for more. ‘More’ doesn’t make you happy, it just makes you justify why you’re in a job you don’t particularly like and is making you miserable (if you’re being honest with yourself).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not going to deny it, I like having money and the freedom that it can bring, like being able to travel back the UK to see family when we like. I also like working A LOT, I always have. But both work and money have different meanings to me now.

It’s so important to be happy in your job and for it to work for you and not against you. Getting to the point where you dislike your job or work because it doesn’t allow you to live the life you really want will ultimately make you miserable, confused and resentful. For some it will end up causing great stress and potentially burnout.

Also, if you’re working harder and longer hours because you think that having more money than you really need will make you and your family happier then you’re completely wrong, it won’t.

I’m not the only one who believes this, I have spoken to so many corporate escapees in the last year, both male and female, who all say the same…..

1. You need MUCH less money than you think you need in life
2. Having the bravery and strength to take that plunge and change direction in life was by far the scariest thing they EVER did but was also the BEST thing they EVER did.

If you’re feeling that you can’t make that change because it’s just too hard, I want you to know YOU CAN!

You can achieve almost anything you want in life but you've got to want it badly enough. You'll need to be prepared for shifting your mindset, re-balancing your life and dedicating yourself to the change.

There’s nothing more important to your personal health and wellbeing than living a life you love!

Yours truly

Karita x

P.S. The first step to living a life you love is to discover what your values are. Knowing these will help you reach your goals in life. If you’d like to discover what your values are please click here for your FREE guide or get in touch.