“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” ~Ralph Marston
Before I started my business, I spent three years at an ad agency and a little over a year at an international furnishings retailer. I also waitressed, wrote freelance articles, designed and developed a church website, and worked in an incredibly boring mailroom.
Some of those jobs (let’s be honest, most of those jobs) totally sucked.
In the mailroom, my boss was a sexist jerk with a Napoleon Complex.
In waitressing, I spent too much of my time being other people’s emotional punching bag.
And at the ad agency—the most relevant, fun, and useful of my full-time jobs—I worked myself half to death, burning out around the three-year mark and seriously contemplating a simple life spent working at Starbucks and never taking my work home with me.
Sometimes, in the middle of the day, I would walk around the block and cry my eyes out because I was so exhausted. So you won’t be surprised when I say that I don’t look back on any of those jobs and want to relive them. I don’t think back on them and feel nostalgic.
And if you told me that you hated your job or even that you loved your job but you’d burned yourself completely out, I’d say, “I hear that, sister!” And then I’d help you come up with a practical plan for quitting and doing something truly spectacular.
That said, it’s only now that I’m truly working toward what I want, doing the things that inspire me, that I can look back and realize that every single job I had, with every good, bad, and ugly thing about it, led me perfectly to the place I am today.
Waitressing taught me patience. It taught me how to work with people (even entitled, difficult, or angry people). It taught me not to take everything so damn personally.
At the furnishings retailer, I learned about account management, event planning, eStore management, and editing content across multiple countries and cultures.
At the ad agency, I learned how to run my own business.
I sat with the accountant while she explained how she balanced the books. I worked alongside the designers and developers and learned to speak their language and respect their work. I wrote and strategized content for every format you can imagine. I managed client projects. I flew across the country to present on social media in front of hundreds.
I also learned the art of the short sentence, the closely edited article. I worked closely with the Creative Director on brand slogans and ad concepts for big brands. And I learned how to sell. Sell my ideas. Sell our services. Sell my expertise.
I learned that when you’re constantly selling yourself, you start to believe in yourself more.
In other words, all the tools that made my first business successful were things I learned on the job at jobs that weren’t my dream.
All the skills I’m using now as a full-time travel writer—my long-time dream job—come from a history of difficult, sometimes heartbreaking work.
Which is why today I wanted to offer up a little encouragement:
If you’re in a totally sucky job you hate or even a job that you kinda love but that is zapping your energy and killing your creativity…
It’s okay.
Because you never know how those skills you’re developing now might just set you up for future success.
So, while you’re in that not-so-ideal job, learn as much as you can. Hone your skills. Connect with your colleagues. Go for that award. Volunteer for a task you want to learn more about.
And in the meantime start looking for or planning for the thing you really want. That job at a company you admire. That career as a freelance creative type. That business idea that’s been coming up over and over again.
Make a change. Do what you love.
But also take advantage of what you can now. And remember that you can’t know just how much that job is doing for you until you’ve left it in the dust. The things you do today can change everything…even if you can’t see it yet.
About Gigi Griffis
Gigi Griffis is a world-traveling entrepreneur and writer with a special love for inspiring stories, new places, and living in the moment. In May 2012, she sold her stuff and took to the road with a growing business and a pint-sized pooch. She also just wrote an unconventional Italy guidebook. You can follow her adventures and life lessons at gigigriffis.com.
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 
I just resigned and gave my notice today. The feeling of relief I have is beyond belief. The funny this is I knew from day one that this Job was not going to work out, I don’t know how I
survived 3 years at this place. I often heard the saying “Listen to your Intuition”. I listened to mine and honoured it.
I can’t wait for my last day and move on with my life. The future does look bright indeed. Thank you Jesus!!!
Thanks, Gigi. I needed to see this today.
My last job was a nightmare: three-hour daily commute, catty co-workers, overwhelming workload, and a boss who was in over her head. But that terrible job gave me the experience, connections, and insight into myself that I needed to land a job I truly love.
I thought it was impossible to find a job that met all my must-haves – a good office environment, supportive co-workers, a decent paycheck, and rewarding work. I have that now only because I stuck it out at a horrible job. Don’t give up hope.
Right on! Thanks for sharing your story as well.
So glad it struck a chord. 🙂
Congrats!
I’m currently working a survival job as a waitress, and sometimes I cry on the phone with my mom before I go in because I am full of so much anxiety and stress from thinking about difficult/angry people I might have to deal with (I’m very sensitive and those people get to me.) and how this is NOT what I want to be doing with my life. Reading your article helped me take the pressure off of myself a bit more. Thank you!
With my last job, I got so fed up and quit after almost a full year of being my boss’s personal punching bag as well. Two weeks later, I was hired on at THE BEST job I have ever had! While it’s not something I want to keep forever, it is a great stepping stone to a better career. I have been here for almost a year and I’m so happy.
Congrats!
So glad to hear it. Sorry about the difficult people – I’ve definitely been there!
Thank you so much for writing this. I am in a job which I thought would be fulfilling but realized it isn’t. I have decided to resign (something which my intuition has been telling me from day 1) but I also realize that I am learning a lot (as I keep making a lot of mistakes and they are proof of my learning). I am hoping that after this trial period I will land my dream job in my dream workplace 🙂
Nice. I have completely diminished my material life to a spartan level. Bare minimum on everything. Clothes, furniture, electronics et all.
It makes my journey through life lighter. The only thing I have is a focused work out schedule, eating habits and spending as much time as possible amidst nature.
just like in relationships – if you “feel” you deserve better. Its probably true.
If you “feel” you have more to offer – you do.
Your emotional compass will navigate you to a place where you will find resonance. That’s where magic happens. Listen to your gut. Listen listen liste.
Good luck. 🙂 Sometimes the dream job thing takes a while, so don’t give up even if it does.
Gigi,
You have so eloquently described how every choice is a right choice. It always leads you on your path. It is about the journey as you write. What a beautiful journey you shared with us. Thank You so much!
Susan
Thanks, Susan!
Someone once told me that it is all relevant. The job coloring in pool plans, the job working with horses and the public, the job at the wallpaper store, the perfume lady, the public works department, the vet hospital, the house cleaning, the…well i can’t remember the rest.
It’s all relevant for these reasons mentioned…..how you tell the story is up to you. You can focus on the horrid hour, horrider pay, worst bosses (there’s been over 30 of them for me), or you can focus on what you took away. Each job is a set of things that you do well and a set that you never want to see again.
Then again, the manage that hired me into my current role, asked us at dinner what our first job was…..I was like legal vs. illegal, above or below the table? Then I rattled off a bunch of stuff and she was like, that’s not on your resume…….it was a funny conversation.
The important thing is to acknowledge how you are not defined as a person by your job. Your self worth should not be tied into your day job. There is so much more to a person of value compared to simply making money. Never let a job title make you feel inferior to anyone nor should you let it make you feel better than others.
Love that: Survival Job. Great term.
Keep on keeping body and soul together. It’s rough, but working hard and keeping your ear to the ground can get you someplace better.
I am able to say that all my jobs, particularly the mediocre ones, taught me something. My best lesson, however, ironically came from a nightmare job in which my boss (and the managements’ failing to not only help me but try and get me fired for my boss’ lies) in which I had a breakdown and eventually quit.
It taught me several important lessons:
I am stronger than I think
Never let anyone devalue your principles
Stay honest whatever the cost
It’s ok to quit.
It’s ok to be selfish and look after yourself (no-one else can do it better).
And you know what? Going through everything not only gave me skills to take to other jobs (such as fighting for what I believe in, having a strong relationship with colleagues etc) but having the breakdown taught me SO many life lessons I couldn’t have learnt any other way.
That’s why I’m currently writing this from Australia after moving from the UK to begin my life of indefinite travels and writing. The lessons and skills worked! 🙂
Love this one –> it’s okay to quit. So agree!
Absolutely!
Keep in mind, though, that even people who aren’t defining themselves by their jobs can get burned out or feel unhappy or stuck. And those jobs, even the burnout ones, can still be full of skills and lessons and such. 🙂
🙂
Very insightful and encouraging article Gigi and the absolute truth. Every job that I’ve had has helped me also be where I am today.. What I do today is a far cry from what I used to do but every skill, experience and job fulfills a place in my life today. I either go the confidence or the know how to do what I do today because of past jobs. While working in these jobs, I used to think, what’s the one thing I can learn from this job or how can this job help me in the future. Even if it wasn’t clear then, it’s been clearer than ever now. I have nothing but gratitude for the work I’ve done – it’s all helped me on a journey I didn’t yet know I was going to be on. Like you say…even if you can’t see it at the time, it’s helpful later on.
Precisely.
Everyday is a school day…..You are always learning something new, you perhaps just don’t realize how much your lesson will make a change in your life.
I kind of love that. “Everyday is a school day.” Well said.
Perhaps its a bit OCD, but it drives my dyslexia into a tail spin when the stock photo is a different gender than the writers voice on Little Buddha. Perhaps its my desire to actually believe the person in the photo is the person writing. Perhaps the photos and writer bios should be under the headline, rather than under the article.
wow! i really needed to “hear” this. My best friend has tried drilling this into my head but i was too busy feeling entitled to stewing in my anger, hatred, fear, and disappointment from the decade-long job from which i just escaped that i couldn’t step back and recognize the “good” or “positive” that I did get from this job. You’re right. I need to sift thru and pick them out, move on and start marketing myself because the fact of the matter is…despite the toxic horror in which I worked, i was great at my job! i excelled at my job! I surpassed expectations! I put in the time and energy to learn and immerse myself in an entirely new, unfamiliar subject matter so I could succeed at my job never pausing to realize my determination and efforts and new found knowledge and skills were going to help me succeed at any job and make me marketable. Sometimes we have to step back and even squint to recognize the value in even the most mundane of circumstances and events but it’s worth it. Thank you for this entry.
Reading this was exactly what I needed 🙂 thank you so very much for sharing this.
nice