Do you feel stuck in a rut? Here’s a story on how to get out

For years I felt like I was stuck in a rut, in an endless circle of miserable days and angry co-workers. Then one day I finally gave up and decided it was time to be happy. Here is my personal story.

For 12 years, I woke up every day, got ready for work, looked in the mirror, and said “I hate my job, I can’t wait for today to be over”.

I was stuck in a rut and had no idea how to get out.

Twelve long years of planning events for hotels. Twelve long years of ungrateful clients, ungrateful employers and surrounded by miserable staff. This was normal, this was accepted. This is currently accepted by millions of people around the world, every day, because they have accepted that “it is what it is”. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Honestly, twelve years is a bit of an exaggeration…

The first 5 or so were not so miserable, I was young, working in fast-paced environments, meeting VIP clients, and essentially running the show. It wasn’t until I started working at a hotel where I had to wear a Nextel phone, in addition to my cell phone; that made me started to unravel.  That Nextel used to beep every 2 minutes with a request.

Every time it beeped, I wanted to jump out of a window!

It beeped when I was with a client, it beeped when I was in bed falling asleep, and it beeped when I was in the bathroom! Nevertheless, I trucked along. I moved hotels a few times, rotated between walkie-talkies, blackberry, and eventually an iPhone to be in constant communication with every department of the hotel, every single waking minute of every single day.

Technology was certainly thriving, but the passion for my career was slowly dying.

With a 4-year hospitality degree and a quick stint at Disney World under my belt, I lived and breathed customer service. In my mind, no matter what any employer said, the guest was always right. It wasn’t until there was a very special speaker at the last hotel that I worked at that changed my life in an instant.

This speaker, a former President of the United States,  requested a Diet Pepsi in a can. When I requested this item from my employer, I was told to get him a Coke and be done with it, as THAT was the brand of soda that we had in-house.

Instead, I went to the bodega, spent my own $0.75, and got him his can of Diet Pepsi, which he was very grateful for. When I requested to be reimbursed for the soda, my employer said “You should have given him the Coke, it doesn’t matter what he drinks”.

Hospitality was officially dead.

Shortly after that experience, I quit.

I quit my career of 12 years, with only a little money saved. After a week, panic ensued – “What did I do?!? “What was I thinking”?!?, and then it finally came to me. “Use what you got girl! Figure out your skills! What are you good at?”, I asked myself.

I began to write down any skill I had, from making desserts to yelling at people, to navigating NYC.

And from that small list, I started to manifest jobs into my life. I was asked to become a personal trainer (great for people who like to yell), I found a job delivering desserts and took the test to become a licensed NYC tour guide. Even though I was bringing in 30% of my last salary, I was finally happy.

I didn’t wake up with dread, I didn’t wake up with the fear that I would be stuck in that miserable career forever. I finally woke up grateful every day.

Not being trapped in a prison for 8 hours or more a day, I had more ME time.

I began to inquire about traveling and read any travel book I could get my hands on at the library or thrift store. I had traveled before, but for only a week at a time, and never alone. Now was the chance for me to finally take a month off and explore, and that is exactly what I did.

Sure, I was nervous at first. Questions ran through my mind like “Would I be safe, would I run out of money, what if no one spoke English, what if no one wanted to talk to me at the hostels, what if I don’t know the word for toilet in that country’s language??”

These fears were quickly put to rest.

Everyone I met was so friendly and welcoming. Being alone also gives you time to figure out what kind of traveler you are. Do you like to get up at 6 am, do you want to do exhilarating activities, or are you happier sitting at a cafe and enjoying a glass of wine alone?

You will never know until you take the leap. I encourage everyone to examine their current situation.

Ask yourself, do you love your career or is it just to pay the bills?

If it is the latter, take out a notepad and write down everything you are good at. Ask yourself, what advice are my friends always asking me to give them? What skills could I bring to the table in a group of strangers?  Trust me, you will be amazed at what you find.

Once you have these skills written down, you can then begin to figure out how to monetize those skills. It may still mean working for someone else, but maybe this time you can use the skills that make you happy. Or it may mean starting your own business. Life is too short not to act. Don’t stay stuck in a rut.

You are not alone in how you feel.

Millions of people around the world feel the same way that I once did. Once I acted, I finally put a stop to the cycle of unhappiness.

Write down your skills. Save some money. Quit your mindless job. Travel the world. In any order that you see fit. That’s my advice in a nutshell. You will be amazed at how it will open your eyes!