In my last post I shared the situation that I see happen a lot.

Basically what happens is professionals will mentally and emotionally check out of their current job.

Maybe it’s because they don’t like their boss.

Maybe it’s because they don’t believe in the company’s mission.

Maybe it’s because they just don’t like their day to day duties…things like that.

But when this happens they start showing up as grumpy, irritable, unmotivated, uninterested and disconnected.

Not just at work but in other parts of their lives….which ends up impacting their health, their relationships, their self-confidence and on and on.

The problem with all of this is that you will NEVER be trusted with your dream career when you are treating your current career like a pile of poo.

Let’s take a look at what I see as the 3 reasons why you need to water the grass where you are standing before you start looking elsewhere.

You’re going to get your butt fired, downsized or let go.  And THAT is going to put you in a far worse situation than the one you are in now.

Here’s the deal.  When you hate your job and you let everyone around you know that you hate your job guess who is likely to be the first person let go?

Yup- YOU.

When you hate your job and you show up half-heartedly and you only do the bare minimum, guess who is going to get passed up for that new promotion?

Guess who is going to miss out on getting great recommendations?

Guess who is going to miss out on the opportunity to grow their network, their community and their team of raving supporters?

Yup-YOU.

When you stop appreciating the job that you have and you stop finding ways to nurture it, you will 100% miss out on all the opportunities that are available to you right under your nose.

In fact, you might even have those opportunities taken away from you if you are fired or let go.

Because even in situations that might seem horrible or hopeless there are always opportunities within them.

If you are willing to change your perception and show up differently.

If you don’t change how you treat your current job you are almost guaranteed to repeat your mistakes…over and over and over again.

I hear so many people say, “well, if I just had a different boss.”

Or “If I just worked for a company that appreciated me more everything would be better”.

Here’s the thing.

If you don’t change how YOU show up at work you are going to keep getting crappy boss after crappy boss.  And you are going to keep finding one company after another that doesn’t appreciate you.

And the reason for that, you might ask?

Wait for it….

The reason is that highest energy always wins.

I might be getting a little woo-woo for some of you but stick with me.

I won’t go into the science behind energy and the energy of our thoughts (that’s for a more in-depth conversation).

All that you need to know is that what you put your energy into (energy that includes your thoughts, emotions, and actions) is what will be delivered right back to you.

Do you ever notice that the more you think about something the more you notice it in your life?

This happened to me recently.  I was thinking about pregnancy (NO…I am not pregnant!) it just happened to be something I was thinking about because of something going on in a friend’s life.  Anyways, in the days following I noticed that it seemed like EVERYONE around me was pregnant.  Pregnant ladies were everywhere!!!

Was it that there were more pregnant ladies on the streets of Denver?

Nope.

It was simply that I had put my attention on pregnant ladies so I was noticing them more often.

This is a simple explanation of the theory but it hopefully helps you see the connection.

Do you see how this relates to our topic?

If you are so focused on how crappy your boss is or how awful the company you are working for is then that is EXACTLY what is going to be presented to you in your life…

...more crappy bosses, more crappy companies and more crappy jobs.

Is that what you want more of in your life?

Probably not.

And that’s why watering the grass where you are planted is SO important.  If you fail to do it and you fail to take care of what you have right now you are only going to get more of what you DON’T want.

This one is similar to #2.  Another reason you need to water where you are standing is because if you don’t you will repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

What’s different about this reason is that failing to water where you are growing can cause you to jump at the first job that is offered to you without making sure that it is the RIGHT opportunity for you.

I talk about this with my clients all the time.  This is a situation in which you are running FROM something rather than running TOWARDS something.

Pause for a second.  Can you feel the energetic difference between those two?

Basically, the difference is in one situation you are being pushed away from a bad situation and the other you are being pulled (or drawn in) into a good situation.

Let me share a story with you of a woman I recently spoke with that will exemplify what I mean here.  We’ll call her “Lauren” to protect her identity.

Lauren had an MBA and a successful work history.  She came to me and described the following situation:

2 years ago she took a new position as the COO of a small marketing firm.  As soon as she got into the position she realized it wasn’t a good fit on a number of levels.  Everything from the company’s mission to a difference in opinion with the CEO on how things should be run and on and on.  After just a few months Lauren knew this wasn’t the right fit for her and she started looking around.  Unfortunately, because she wasn’t watering the grass where she was standing the situation at her current work continued to deteriorate to a point where she was desperate to leave.  Eventually an opportunity came up.  Being desperate to leave (which I would equate to being pushed out) she accepted the position…even though it paid $80K less than she was making.  Now, here’s the kicker.  She left her last job out of desperation, took a pay cut out of desperation and guess where she found herself?  In another job that she also hated.  The cycle was repeating itself but now she was making $80K less than she was making before.

AAAHHHH!!!

So, Reason #3 to water the grass where you are standing is precisely for this reason.  If you are nurturing what you have you will be less likely to find yourself in a desperate situation like Lauren was in.  And therefore, you will be less likely to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Can you see the importance of nurturing what you have now so that you can attract more of what it is you want?

You’re a smart cookie so I’m guessing you do.

I encourage you to check out my next post where I’ll share with you the 5 things you can do to water the grass where you are standing starting TODAY so that you can finally land your dream job.

If you’ve found yourself in the cycle of going from one unfulfilling job opportunity to another and you haven’t found a way to break the cycle then you definitely want to continue reading.