Your Career Path: Are You Thriving Or Just Surviving?

Zombie Survival Guide, a photo by jronaldlee on Flickr.

You might say that the choices we often make in selecting our jobs—or in changing them—are indicators of the economy and the current job market. It’s easy to attribute our lack of ambition to outside forces. In other words, we are comfortable because, simply put, we are working.

This is what survival mode looks like. With a stable job we think we know better than to take a chance on accepting a new one. And so we hunker down.

But does survival mode mean that you should live with the likelihood of never improving your career? Shouldn’t you still try?

Ambition = Good. Mediocrity = Bad?  Believe it or not, this is not a hard and fast rule. If you’re currently out of work, taking a downscaled job that merely pays the bills can be a good option. If you’re good at budgeting your time, you can dedicate some of your week to a menial job while you are networking and seeking out a better job--without the guilt. Paying off a few bills can boost your confidence while you look for your next big career move.

Don’t make reactionary career choices.  In survival mode, you’re working at your current job but your radar is up for new opportunities. It’s very easy to jump too fast into accepting a new job offer. Perhaps the pay is a little bit higher, the commute is a little shorter or the new boss seems a little less toxic than your current one. As you consider your next offer, I’d suggest you ask yourself one important question:

“With this job offer, am I moving toward something I want, or am I escaping from something, instead?”

How does your physical body feel as you consider all sides of the new job opportunity? Are feeling tense, uncertain? Or do you feel peaceful and relaxed?

Accepting a new job to escape is a decision based on fear. Don’t do it.

Moving beyond job survival mode is a selfish act—but it’s well worth it.  If you aren’t working with some degree of passion or satisfaction, doing what excites you, something interesting happens. Even a level of mediocrity will be hard to sustain. Whether you hang out your own shingle and work for yourself, look at new opportunities within your own company or look at roles in new companies, it’s really important to challenge yourself. When you live beyond survival mode, you live with the possibility that job happiness might just be around the corner.