The Grass Is Greener Syndrome

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It has been a while hasn’t it? I have missed the opportunity to use my creativity. Work and personal life situations has come between you and I and it will not happen again or at least for a while. Before I continue, I wanted to give a shout out to a long time viewer and writer friend, Charity. Charity, thank you so much for sending me a e-mail waiting for my next post.

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Lately, I have been evaluating my choices in my professional career or lack there of. The goal was to be a paid writer for a living. Well, in some ways it still is. I just have to figure out what style of writing and see who will give me a shot. Currently and for the last 5 years I have worked in the financial services field. But, I notice I don’t last in those roles more than year. Some may call me a ” job hopper” which sounds really harsh even if it is true. But, the term is having The Grass Is Greener Syndrome. This syndrome is moving from job to job when things are not in tune as you feel they should be whether it is an annoying boss, co-worker or the job is not as you expect to me. Some may say this is a flaw and others may say it’s good to experiment and see where you want to end up. But, at the age of 35, I don’t know where I want to be. In all reality we all want to be happy, secure and financial stable. But at what expense? Does it cost us our health? Being up at night worrying about the next day’s work load or that person that you don’t gel with and sighing that you have to deal with him/her? I maybe speaking candidly or freely, but what is the price of security in the work field? I read in an article that one can bring in a six-figure income and still be unhappy with what they do for obtain it. I’ve always been a free-spirited person who doesn’t like to conform to rules or authority of other people. As I dwelve deeper into for myself, I get bored easy. Once something is no longer a challenge for me, I get bored and am ready for the next thing or if things aren’t structured my way, its time to go! The more I write about it here it sounds very divalistic if that is a word. Overall it is not my intent, but I do like things accordingly. Chance is hard for me, nonetheless I try to adapt best as I can.

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It makes me wonder why some of us are not satisfied. Why can’t we be grateful for what we have until we are ready for the next best opportunity? The GGS ( Grass is green syndrome) is defined as preventing one from acknowledging what you currently have and appreciating it. The inability to be grateful for what you have is only exacerbated by the fact that you’re constantly looking ahead to what you believe will be better. I shake my head at the definition because this is something that can really prevent one from doing great things within a company. But, I say all of this to say, if you are not happy, find what makes you happy once you believe you know what it is. These are some steps that are helping me re-evaluate the grass I believe may be greener, lol:

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1. Stop Reacting, Start Planning 

To break the pattern, you first have to stop reacting. Stop making decisions based on where you are and start making decisions based on where you want to be. 

Take the time to truly evaluate what’s working and what’s not in your current situation, and determine what the right path looks like for the future. Get clear on your preferences. Evaluate your talents and how they are best used in the workplace. Figure out what you want before you ever begin to look at what’s available. 

When you’re unhappy where you are, it’s easy to browse job boards and see potential happiness in anything. Don’t indulge that fantasy.

2. Take Advantage of Where You Are 

As you go through this process of self-evaluation, use the time in your current role to gain as much experience as you can. Soak up knowledge, take on new challenges and build your competencies. You’ll take these things with you wherever you go, so nothing is lost by giving this current position your absolute best. Plus, you’ll ensure you have strong professional references for the future.

3. Execute Your Job Search 

Finally, once you’re clear on what you want in your next role (not just what you don’t want), make a plan for executing a successful job search. Remember, you’re not just looking for any job, you’re looking for the right job. That means you need to customize your resume to perfectly match the role you want, leverage your professional network to find hidden opportunities and be patient. Don’t allow your current dissatisfaction to drive your decisions or push you to accept something that isn’t really what you want. Do your due diligence, ask questions and be discerning. 

It’s worth noting that things may not always play out perfectly, even when you take a more methodical, proactive approach. You can never know for sure what a job is like until you’re actually doing it. However, if you’ve gone through this process as outlined here, and you still end up in a job you’re not happy with, you’ll at least have the satisfaction of knowing that you did everything you could. You’ll learn a great deal from the experience and won’t make the same mistakes again. 

In most cases, even if you don’t end up with the perfect “forever” job, it will still be a good option for a longer period of time than otherwise. Perhaps you can stay for five years, and then continue your pursuit of the next green pasture.

Source: https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/articles/2017-02-02/the-most-common-reason-for-job-hopping-and-3-steps-to-stop-it

I hope this blog post will be able to help you gain understanding of what you could be feeling. There is nothing wrong with finding the right job no matter what age you. Find your happiness.