There are too many personal development gurus that will tell you to follow you true calling, borrow everything you can with your credit cards and pursue your dreams. It can be a case for some people out there but I also know for the fact that you dont have to go absolute extreme to find happiness in your daily jobs.
Firstly a job is a collection of activities that take place during your work hours. I struggle to believe that you hate every single one of them. Secondly you ended up in this job because it didn’t seem that terrible at the time. You made a conscious choice to get paid doing that. I also don’t believe that it happened because there was no interest in any part of it or a some kind of motivation behind.
So if we to break down the job into parts that you actually really enjoy could you find a way to do more of those? It may not be at this very same place but in a different office, slightly different industry or another team?
Another big part of us humans is that we try to find meaning and logic in everything around us. Sometimes it is difficult to see forest for the trees. I can see my job as a daily conversations on a phone and meetings with customers. Or I can see it as a noble deed of helping hospitals healing people and saving lives and minds. I prefer the latter and truly believe in what I do.
If that does not work for you when let me offer you something else. Eastern philosophy believes that we create meaning rather than finding it. What is a meaning of a beautiful rose growing in a garden? It has
none – it just being a flower. A man finding it accidentally may take it as a sign of a girl he likes have feelings for him. Or he may stop to smell it and remember to enjoy life.
So if you can’t find meaning in your job may be you are doing it to provide security for your family. May be by being at work you make it a better place.
You do not need to quit your job to find happiness. The happiness may come from smaller steps you can take today. Let me know if I can help you with finding that happiness and balance you are looking for.