A Professional "Stuck" on a Desert Isle

shaunkpro
Mar 25, 2015
2 min read

Are you stuck in a job you can’t stand, but can’t simply leave?

Judith and her husband needed her income and benefits so he could make an important career move. She took a job she thought would be good, or at least OK, but it turned out to be awful.

In one of our sessions, Judith said to me, “I feel like I’m on a desert island. There’s nothing here for me, but I can’t leave the island.” That’s where I got the term “desert island job.”

Judith wasn’t unique. Up to 40 percent of workers want to leave the job they’re in. A lot of them don’t think they can because they need the income or the benefits or it’s the only option to practice their profession or some other good reason.

I’ve worked with dozens of clients like Judith. Many of the things we arrived at are probably true for you.

The first, and most important, thing is to take inventory of the things you can control in your life. This may flow easily for you, or you may need help thinking it through. The point is that you must continue to be an excellent employee - an outstanding professional – despite how emotionally difficult that might be. Be true to your best self.

Most of my clients move on after only one or two sessions because once they understand what they are able to do, they can move forward on their own. With other clients, we consider the two basic options available:

You can plant a garden, so that you have some support on the island. Or you can make plans to build a raft and escape.