Several factors make up your overall lifestyle. What you eat and drink goes into it. Whether you exercise or not enters into it, as does what you do in your downtime.
Your work also impacts your overall lifestyle and your happiness (or lack thereof). We will talk about that some more in the this article.
Your Work Can Make You Feel Fulfilled
If you find a job that makes you feel fulfilled, that can positively impact your life. Conversely, if you are in a position where you do not feel fulfilled or if your work makes you miserable, then you probably won’t have a very happy life.
Maybe you have an unsafe job where people die or suffer work-related accidents. In 2021, 4,764 workers died in work-related accidents in the US alone. You will see similar numbers most years.
If you work in something like construction, where there’s a high mortality rate, you might live fearfully. You may worry every day you go in that you could sustain a serious injury or even die.
If that’s true, you likely won’t enjoy your existence, since you might work many hours every week. If you’re thinking that something awful could happen the whole time you’re there, you might consider getting into another line of work without delay.
Your Work Can Cause You Stress
Maybe you are not worried that you’ll fall off scaffolding or anything like what might happen in the construction industry. Perhaps your job still causes you stress, though.
Perhaps you have a job where you have a very demanding boss. They’re a micromanager, and they’re always around, pressing you. They might insist that you work faster or that you put in more hours.
If your boss pays you very well, maybe you’ll feel that you’re okay with the high-stress environment. If you like the work, then a high-pressure boss might not convince you that you should quit.
If you don’t like your boss and your coworkers and you also feel a lot of stress, that’s probably a sure sign you should resign. Maybe you can find a different job within your profession that’s not so stressful. You may also get into another industry entirely.
Your Work Indicates How Much Money You Will or Won’t Have
Your work also impacts your lifestyle in the sense that what you do probably directly affects how much money you have. It’s true that you might have a hobby outside of work that brings in some extra cash.
Maybe you find antiques at flea markets, refurbish them, and sell them at a markup on eBay. You might have some additional hobbies or side hustles that bring in some extra money.
For the most part, though, your main job brings in most of your income. If you flip burgers at McDonald’s, you will probably never get rich. If you work as a bartender or do retail work, you likely won’t get wealthy those ways, either.
You should understand the pay ceiling your job and profession have. If you become a doctor or a lawyer, on the other hand, you should know that you can make much more money that way.
If money doesn’t interest you, then you might feel okay working at a menial job your whole life. Maybe you won’t ever become wealthy, but if you have a simple job without much pressure and no further ambitions, you might do fine.
If you feel that you need money for happiness, though, you must likely find a new job and profession at some point. Whether you find another job by attending college classes or through some other means, you must have an exit plan, or you probably won’t feel very happy or fulfilled.
You Can Meet Friends or a Significant Other Through Your Work
You might have a job that you like or one that you don’t enjoy all that much. Either way, you may love the people with whom you work.
You might feel like when you go into work every day, you’re going to hang out with your friends. That can make your work situation feel much better.
You might have a job where you flirt with your coworkers. If you are single, you might like that and find it exciting. You may date your coworkers or have casual romances with them.
You might find your significant other through your job. If so, maybe you’ll feel glad you got into that profession and accepted that particular position.
If the friends you like at your job eventually leave, though, and you don’t like the job so much without them, you might find that it’s time you left.
You Can Find a Job with Staying Power
You might also look for a job that has staying power. If you like your job and career, that’s wonderful, but you should think about whether you’ve found a position that technology won’t render obsolete in the near future.
Many jobs and even entire professions might vanish before too long. New technology keeps coming out, and every time a new innovation arrives, it means more people don’t have jobs.
You might feel some stress or pressure knowing that your position might not exist in five or ten years. If you feel that’s likely, you should have an exit plan. You must think about how you can transition into a different position or career if you know that technology will take over your job at some point.
In Conclusion
Your job will always impact your lifestyle. You might seek a position where you make plenty of money or one where you love coming to work every day. You may want one where you help the planet because that makes you feel good.
If you do not like your job, though, then you should seek something different. Until you do, your work will drag you down or even make you feel that life isn’t worth it.
