Connection
This blog post will resonate with hundreds and thousands of people across the UK, around the world as well.
We live in a society where 1/3 of our lives is spent at a place of work, if we’re not enjoying it, when what’s the point? Why don’t we change something?
It can get to a stage in your career, especially if you’ve been in the same sector for years, potentially even decades, where you’ve just had enough. You end up feeling so much resentment from the lack of excitement that you start to slowly drift away. When the signs of disconnection and misalignment start to show, it’s time for a change.
“… monotony.”
As humans, we become comfortable, we look at our lives (the majority of us do) and think that we’ve got a pretty good lifestyle. But how many of us really enjoy our jobs? How many of us can honestly say we love to go to work every single day? The percentage can’t be much more than 10-15%.
Let’s focus on a sales job/career – There are two key words; monotony and fulfilment.
To a certain degree, most jobs are fairly repetitive, in the sense that we do the same thing everyday we turn up. Let’s take professional football as an example – Premier League players will either play or train, everyday, it’s that black and white. They might do the occasional press conference, or charity event etc, but 99% of the time, they’re kicking the ball into the back of the net… or at least trying to!
Repetition can easily slip into monotony if we’re not careful – the two are closely linked. When our daily tasks start to feel dull, tedious, and mind-numbingly boring, especially when they lack genuine interest or purpose, we risk crossing the line from simple routine into something far more draining.
Fulfilment comes from achieving our desires, reaching the goals we’ve been striving toward, and accomplishing the things we’ve poured our energy and effort into. In sales, that fulfilment often comes from hitting and surpassing targets. Sometimes it’s measured in customer satisfaction, but satisfaction alone doesn’t pay the bills or change the numbers in your bank account.
In careers where monotony and unfulfillment are at the forefront, we run the risk of emotional burnout, or in this case, employment burnout. We forget why we even started in the first place and inevitably get sucked into a repetitive cycle of monotony, creeping hopelessness, and quiet but serious doubts about the road ahead.
Life becomes comfortable
Life becomes just that – comfortable.
We go to work day after day, week after week, until months blur into years and years into decades. Then one day, we look back and wonder how time moved so quickly. Somewhere along the way, we lose touch with how we’ve really felt, convincing ourselves that the financial security was enough – financial comfortability.
Was it enough though?
The Life Of A Salesperson can truly tangle the mind. Years are spent chasing ‘the money’- fuelled by drive, grit, determination, tenacity, and perseverance. These traits become the foundation of every pitch, placing constant pressure on both body and mind. After pouring everything into the moment, a rejection can feel incredibly deflating.
If we are lucky enough to get the sale, it provides our minds with a shot of dopamine and momentarily feelings of euphoria – The mind tell us we’ve reached our goal, and we’re already working out how to spend the money, in some cases, the money has already been allocated to whatever materialistic thing is next to buy on the list!
After the initial ‘hype’ of the sale has passed, and inevitable sea of paperwork has been washed away, our minds must rapidly reset, start to focus on the next client, and start the entire process from the beginning.
So, do we become comfortable?
Yes, we do.
The job gives us what we want in the moment – that feel good feeling – And we gain a few extra pennies in our bank accounts. But at what cost? What are these constant ups and downs, heavy rejections and constant pressure situations doing to our delicate little minds?
What are your thoughts?