Everybody thinks about quitting occasionally… …and sometimes, quitting your job might be the best decision you make. But there’s some real downsides to quitting unprofessionally, and you need to be careful to avoid them because they will haunt your future career. These are bad ideas:
breaking an employment contract
venting your anger online in public forums
raging at your boss in a final dramatic recount of all your frustration
stealing to make up for the way they treated you
leaving suddenly without preparing the person taking over your job
not having money to live on while you look for another position
I sure hope you see why these are bad ideas! It’s easy to talk yourself into thinking they are good ideas, though, because your emotions get in the way when work conditions become intolerable. Every single idea has future consequences, and thinking about those consequences is a good idea. Future employers will look at your past jobs and contact past employers about your behavior. They look at what you say online. Theft is a crime and you will get caught. How’d you like to take over someone’s job who left it like you did? And money is important for bills and groceries, am I right? Here are some good ideas:
start saving so you have at least a month or more of financial cushion
Do you know anyone working their dream job right now? How many people do you know that are working a job they hate just to pay the bills, all the while holding out hope that their dream job will plop right down in their laps? All they are waiting for is the right time, right? If you ventured a guess, the latter probably outnumbered the former by quite a large margin. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, considering that people have to pay bills to live, so they have a vested interest in earning a paycheck. But, some people find themselves completely restless with the path they’ve chosen and want to make a break for something new and exciting. That’s when many people break up with their reality and decide to chase a dream. You may not succeed but at least you can say you gave it a try, or you could end up living your dream. Finding the Dream Job Even if you have a solid job that is paying the bills and offering security, it may not be enough. If you want something else out of life then why not make the uncomfortable move and leave your situation? The drawback: going from plenty to living on the lower-rung of the pocketbook scale. If you decide to try your hand at your dream job there will be setbacks, you will have to make sacrifices that, perhaps, you are not comfortable with. That means less eating out and less entertainment plans, you will have to limit your purchases to the essentials, while still leaving some for yourself. Your friends and family should be your rock at this time. They should be there to provide help and encouragement, but if they’re not, it’s their loss and your life, so go live it. Before you leave your current job, make sure you have something to fall back on. Make sure you have your dream job in place, even if you are close to getting it there is no guarantee. You do not want to put yourself in a compromising situation that you will have to dig your way out of. A New Type of Rich If you make a drastic step and totally alter your life, will it be worth it or will your life be more fraught with peril than before? Who knows, and it depends on your situation. If you decide to quit your job to focus on African alligator wrestling, you will be in for a complete, 180 degree change in lifestyle. But, you also reward yourself both spiritually and emotionally by following what it is you want to do. The hardest part of making the change may be the fear of what people say about you. Even though your bank account may not be overflowing, your karma bank will be earning interest. And who cares what someone says about you, you’re following your dreams while they slave away in a cubicle working for a faceless, soul-sucking corporation who would just as easily fire them and everyone in the office if it improved their stockholder shares. So why do you care what people say, you have a dream and you’re following it. Live for yourself, even if it means a hit to the pocketbook.
