Quitting doesn’t make you a Quitter.

Do you hate your job? QUIT! No, I’m not giving you career advice. I am saying either quit your job or quit hating it. One or the other.

Look, there is a perfect person for every job, business or enterprise worth doing. I believe that the perfect person will love doing that job. Their strengths will be exactly what are needed to do the job well. Their weaknesses will be minimized and they will know it is their perfect job because they will be happy doing it. If you’re not in your perfect job, you are standing in the way of the person whose perfect job it is.

I have observed this over and over again, most recently first hand. You see, I officially quit my job a few months ago. That’s when I told my boss that I was planning on leaving. When I met my successor I absolutely knew that He is perfect for the job I hate.

Let me be clear. The job is not a bad one. Seen objectively, most people would look at it and call it cushy. It was a good match for my skills and I performed well. I was compensated fairly – as jobs go. My boss did not often intrude upon my work. My co-workers defered to me and my subordinates performed their duties without much effort on my part. It even involved a worthy objective.

In fact, from an external perspective, it looked like a perfect job for me. The only problem with it is that I hated it. For the almost a year and a half I dragged myself out of bed to go do a job that my body, my soul rejected. Every day as I drove to work, I felt my energy dropping and my happiness receding. When interacting with coworkers that little voice inside was screaming “You don’t belong here!!!” It was like the life was being sucked out of me one day at a time. Slowly. If I hadn’t been looking for it, I may never have noticed. My culture, my family had taught me to look at the externals and ignore that little voice. But I choose instead to listen.

See, I also believe that we are supposed to be happy. That happiness is an essential part of a life well lived. That personal sacrifice is sacrifice and that it is never required.

When I took that job it suited me. But at some point (I can actually tell you almost exactly when that was) the job’s direction and my internal compass began diverging. And instead of moving on then, I allowed myself to stay, like the comfortable frog in the pot of water heading toward boiling. I told myself that I was a stabilizing influence. That during a period of transition, I could lend my encouragement and support to the people I worked with.

Once I announced my resignation several coworkers took the time to tell me that I would be missed, that I was a “ray of sunshine” in the office, that I could always be counted on for a smile and encouragement. Things like that. And I am grateful that they don’t know how much I hated my job.

You may be thinking to yourself. Oh, I guess she’s independently wealthy. And in a way you are right. I don’t have a lot of money, but it’s coming. That is as inevitable as the sun rising tomorrow. Because there are two critical ways I am different from the people who stay in jobs they hate.

First, I have self respect. I value myself, my contributions and my own happiness. Second, I am willing to ask “How can I create the life that I want?” instead of passively accepting the situation as it unfolds around me.

I’m not telling you to walk out of your job tomorrow. But I can say from personal experience that the result of that action could be far more positive that you think. You don’t have to be unhappy. You have more options than you are currently considering. You just have to start asking the right questions.

Your solution may not be the same as mine.  After started a direct sales business last year I have given myself the freedom to make this choice. The energy I have freed up to build that business since I quit my job has fueled its success. It was the right choice for me.

Explore your options. But start now. Commit to being in a “job” you love by this time next year. With the right opportunity, twelve months is more than enough time to build a successful business. In fact depending on your current skills you may need only six months or three. The key is to start taking action today. Right now. You are worth it.