“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.”

    ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Most of us who are out of school and working generally don’t like our jobs. Some of us deal with too many hours. For others, the job is very boring. Sometimes, your job is very stressful. So, for a variety of reasons, a lot of people trudge through a job they simply cannot stand. Most of these people toil away in this employee misery.

    There are others who actively try to break out of their jobs and employee life in general. They have ideas for businesses they want to start, and some may have even started side businesses already (like an online venture). Some are part-time bloggers whose income is slowly becoming enough to sustain them. Others start to invest in real estate. Eventually these ventures become profitable enough for their owners to quit their day jobs.

    Whichever person you, the point is that, in the here and now, you are STUCK in a job you don’t like and hate going to. You feel like the proverbial “rat race” is grinding you down. So how do we get through our jobs on a daily basis? Even for those who see the light at the end of the tunnel, what do you do from here to there? How do we deal with the day-in/day-out misery that plagues us?

    The answer is focusing on the reality around us and on the things that make us who we are. These things are reflected in many tangible experiences. Here are 12 tips to help you attain this focus and get through your current day job:

    1) Remember that there are only so many hours in a day. There is only so much you can do in one day. Don’t stress over the fact that you have to finish a 10-hour work assignment in 5 hours. You do what you can in 5 hours, turn it in, and let the rest take care of itself. We’re only human, and there are limits to what we are physically capable of doing. The next time it feels like a time constraint is going to burden you to the ground, don’t become obsessed with how little time you have. Focus on what you can do with your skills and abilities in the time that you do have. The rest is out of your control and, thus, should be out of your worries.

    2) Find something you love. Since work is not what you love, find something that you truly enjoy. Everyone has specific interests and skills. Find a hobby or activity you enjoy doing and dive into it. Some people enjoy sports. Others enjoy fishing, scrapping, writing, blogging, etc. Find something you can do a little of every day and attack it with everything you have. It will become your passion. Our hobbies and activities reflect who we are, and the more we immerse ourselves in them the more we discover ourselves.

    3) Educate yourself. For those of you who strategize about ways to liberate yourself from your job and life as an employee, learn more about your hobby or passion. Take that activity that you love and find out how to turn it into a business. If you like writing, determine whether you can write short stories, poetry, or a full-fledged novel. If you love antiques, find out if you can buy and sell antiques as an Ebay business. If you have an interest in real estate, read about it and attend seminars. Researching this connection between your passion and a possible business opportunity is important for a couple of reasons. If you can turn your passion into a profitable business, you can set up a framework for escaping the 9-to-5 grind. In addition, and more important, you create a means through which you can fulfill yourself on a daily basis, and that sense of fulfillment distracts you from your workplace misery.

    4) Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Nothing bothers me more than someone telling me I “can’t” do something. I remember explaining to my boss one day the mechanics of investing in rental properties and the potential it has for developing passive income and a consistent cash flow. He dismissed it and promptly declared that it was too difficult to do. Comments and attitudes like that can quickly suppress whatever dreams you have and bury you further into your “rat race.” If you have a dream, you have to protect it, especially from people with “can’t do” attitudes. Don’t let anyone take that dream away from you. People who think something “can’t be done” simply can’t do it themselves. And then they want to tell you that you can’t do it. If you want something, and if you think it can be done, go do it, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

    5) Exercise. Not only do you have to train your mind to believe the impossible, you also have to train your body to help you achieve that. Exercise is essential to surviving the daily grind. When I wake up and exercise in the morning, I feel so good the rest of the day. My body is energetic, and my mind is quicker and more alert. The lack of exercise can bog you down. Combined with an unhappy work life, it can push you down into unspeakable depths. Exercise your body regularly, and the benefits you’ll experience will transcend the physical and spill over into a healthy mind and a vibrant self-esteem.

    6) Save money. Nothing makes you feel more miserable about work than the need to keep working to pay for items you bought with money you didn’t have. Instead of buying that new widescreen TV or that new iphone, save your money. Don’t eat out as much. Bring lunch to work. Build a fund of money that you can use for investing or starting a business. Knowing that you’re saving money for something productive will help erase the feeling that you “need” to go to work to pay your bills.

    7) Drink wine. If you’re going to spend money on something, spend a little on the fundamental pleasures of life. The ancient Greeks and Romans never spared themselves a glass of wine, so why should you? A glass of wine every day has unbelievable health benefits, and it helps you wind down after a stressful or active day. It also tastes great and pairs well with good food and enhances any meal. It’s a pleasure worth indulging in.

    Go to the movies. There is nothing like sitting in a large, cold movie theater and watching a great movie on the big screen. Widescreen TVs have attempted to replicate this experience, but there’s nothing like the real thing. Making the time to go see a movie helps you escape from reality, even if it’s just for a couple of hours. That escape can do wonders for you. It can help you re-charge your batteries and, by watching a fictional story unfold before you, allow you to sustain your dreams.

    9) Spend time with your family. The most important reflection of who you are is your family. Allowing work to consume you will only create and widen a divide between you and your loved ones. If you’re married, make time for your spouse, and don’t underestimate how important “I love you” is. If you have children, be there for them, no matter what the cost is at work. Focusing on your family will help you realize that your job, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t that important. If you know it’s not #1 on your list, then you won’t stress as if it had that kind of importance.

    10) Take at least one vacation to relax. When people take vacations, a lot of them go sight seeing. They go to Europe. They go to Disney World. They take time away from work to do things that exhaust them. Then, when they return to work from their vacations, they wish they had taken a second vacation to relax from their first vacation. This only perpetuates their unhappiness at work and makes them feel like they can’t ever get ahead. That’s why it’s so important to take at least one vacation per year where you just . . . do . . . nothing. If it means taking time off and staying home, then do that. Another great way to relax is to rent a house close to the beach. Head over every morning, get some sun, grab some lunch, and then go back to the house in the afternoon and take a nap. Taking a truly relaxing vacation will help you re-energize and, upon your return, help you cope better with a stressful work environment.

    11) Don’t do anything on weekends. That’s right. Don’t make plans. Don’t run errands. Don’t go to the mall. Don’t find activities to do. Just stay home and relax. The same rationale for relaxing vacations applies here. Having a jam-packed weekend runs you to the ground and leaves you tired and helpless when Monday’s roll around. Enjoying an activity-free Saturday and Sunday does, in the short term, what a relaxing vacation does in the long term. It helps you re-energize after a long week of irrational bosses, annoying co-workers, an overwhelming workload, and long commutes. Saturday’s and Sunday’s are there for a reason. Take advantage of them.

    12) Find a good television show. Find a show you love and get into it. The intrigue and excitement about watching a weekly sitcom or hour-long drama makes it seem as if the week passes more quickly. It’s as if you have this weekly outlet that no one can take away from you. When you sit down to watch your show, you dive into its world, and you live it and breathe it for a half hour or an hour. For several months, you look forward to that show, and you become enveloped in its plot and emotionally attached to its characters. It provides a great weekly escape from the 9-to-5 grind. My favorites are Lost, 24, and The Office. Lost, in particular, captivates me and is, quite possibly, one of the best TV shows ever made.

    Follow these 12 tips, and your work life will improve significantly.

    "人生大部分的阴影都是由于我们站在自己的阳光之下."~拉尔夫.沃尔多.爱默生

    我们中的大多数一般都离开学校，开始工作了，但又不喜欢我们的工作。一些人工作太多个钟头。而另一些人，工作又太乏味了。有些时候，你的工作压力很大。因此，由于种种原因，许多人辛苦跋涉过了他们简直无法承担的工作。他们中的大多数只有在这悲惨的求职生活中埋头苦干。

    而有些人积极的想要摆脱工作和职业生活的束缚。他们对自己想开始什么样的生意很有想法，并且一些人可能已经开始了副业(就像网上创业).有些是兼职的博客撰稿人，他们的收入慢慢变得足够养活他们自己。另一些人则开始投资房地产。最后这些创业都替他们赢得了足够的利润来辞掉他们的日常工作。

    无论你是那种人，关键是眼下，你正陷于你不喜欢的工作，你讨厌去那里上班。你感觉上就像被那“你死我活的竞争”碾碎。因此我们如何才能以每天为基础度过我们的日常工作？即使是那些看到希望的曙光的人，从这儿到那儿，你做了什么呢？我们如何才能解决那些日日夜夜折磨着我们的痛苦呢？

    这个答案就集中于围绕在我们左右的事实以及那些使我们成为我们自己的那些事情上。这些事情反射于许多切实的经验上。这里有12条小贴士来帮你达到这个目标并且度过你现在的日常工作。

    1） 记得一天只有那几个小时。一天之中你只可以做那么些事情。不要过度的逼迫你自己这样想：你不得不在5个小时内完成10个小时的工作。在5个小时里你做你力所能及的事，换句话说，就是将其余的工作放任自流。我们只是女人，我们身体上力所能及的事情有很多的限制。感觉下一次，这样的强迫的想法就会把你压垮，不要被你有如此少的时间迷惑。关心一下在你所拥有的时间内用你的技术和能力可以做的事情。其他的就不在你的控制之内，因此，他们也应该在你的担忧之外。

    2） 找一些你喜欢的东西。因为工作不是你喜欢的，那就找一些你真正享受的东西。每个人都有独特的兴趣和技术。找一个你喜欢的兴趣或者活动，并且投入进去。有些人喜欢运动。还有人喜欢钓鱼、手工、写作、博客等等。找一些你每天可以做一点的事情并且倾其所有地投入进去。它将会变成你的热情。我们的兴趣和活动反映着我们是什么样的人，我们越沉浸于那些东西，我们就越能发现真正的自己。

    3) 教育你自己。对于那些自己制定方法将自己从工作和生活中解放出来的雇员来说，你们应该学习更多有关于你们的兴趣和热情的事。从事你喜欢的活动，并且想出如何将此转化为一项职业。如果你喜欢写作，那么你就决定你是不是可以写写短的故事、诗歌、或者似模似样的小说。如果你喜欢古董，那么想想你是否可以像Ebay那样买卖古董。如果你对房地产感兴趣，那么多读读这方面的书籍并且参加研讨会。由于许多原因，调查一下你的热情和可能的商业机会之间的联系是十分重要的。如果你可以将你的热情转化为一项可以盈利的事业，那么你就可以建立一项事业来摆脱朝九晚五的工作带来的折磨。另外，也是更重要的，你建立了一个可以在每天的基础上实现自己的计划，并且这样的满足感会把你的注意力从痛苦的工作上转移开来。

    4） 不要让任何人告诉你，你不能做到一些事。没有比其他人告诉我，我不能做到某些事情更让我困扰的了。我记得有一天我向我的老板解释投资出租物业的技巧和发展被动收入和一致的现金流转的潜力。他驳回了我的建议并且迅速地宣称：那实在是太难了，根本无法做到。他的评论和态度就像是快速地压制了你的梦想并且将你更深的埋入“你死我活的竞争”之中。如果你有一个梦想，你不得不去保护它，尤其是从那些带有“你不行”的态度的人手里。别让任何人从你身上夺走你的梦想。简单地认为某些事情无法做到的人自己也没有办法做到。于是他们想告诉你，你也无法做到。如果你想要某些东西，并且如果你认为那可以做到，那么就去做吧，别让任何人和你说那些话。

    5） 锻炼。你不仅仅要训练你自己的思想去相信不可能的事情，你还要训练你的身体来帮你实现它。锻炼是从日常工作中生存下来的基础。当我早上醒来做运动的时候，我在接下来的一天中都感觉很好。我的身体充满了精力，我的思维更加敏捷，更加警醒。缺乏锻炼会使你陷入困境。伴随着不愉快的工作生活，它会将你推入无法形容的深渊。有规律的锻炼你的身体，以及由此体会到的益处会超越身体，延续到一个健康的思维和膨胀的自尊。

    6） 存钱。没有比你努力工作来买自己买不起的东西更凄惨的了。不要买那款新的宽屏电视和新的iphone手机，省下你的钱。不要老是出去吃。带着午饭去上班。存下一笔你可以用来投资或者开始一项事业的钱。知道你自己真在为某些有产出的事情存钱会抹去你需要去工作来付账的感觉。

    7） 喝红酒。如果你要在某些事情上花钱，那么花一些在生活的基本享受上。古希腊和罗马人从来都是就不离身，所以为什么你就应该呢？每天一杯红酒有着难以置信的健康方面的益处，它也将帮助你在一天的劳累和奔波后舒缓下来。它喝起来也很美味，伴着其他好的食物一起吃的话可以提高每餐的质量。这是很愉悦的享受，值得你沉浸其中。

    8） 去看电影。没有什么能比得上坐在一个宽敞、凉爽的剧院，在大萤幕上看一场出色的电影了。宽屏电视尝试着复制这种体验，但是这根本不像原来的那种感觉。花点时间去看一场电影帮助你逃离现实，即使只有几个小时。那样的逃离可以让你感觉很奇妙。通过看一场在你面前打开的小说，可以帮助你充电并且使你维持你的梦想。

    9） 花点时间和你的家人呆在一起。你是谁的种重要的反映是你的家庭。让你的工作耗费你所有的时间只会建立和加宽你和你爱的人之间的分歧。如果你已经结婚了，那么为你的配偶花一些时间，并且不要低估了“我爱你”的的重要性。如果你有孩子，那么和他们呆在一起，无论在工作上你会付出什么样的代价。重视你的家庭会帮你了解到你的工作，虽然有重大的一系列的计划，也不是那么重要了。如果你知道工作不是你人生的清单中最重要的东西，那么你就不会因为它好像是那么重要而感到压力了。

    10）至少休一次假，让自己放松一下。当人们休假的时候，他们中的很多人出去观光。他们去欧洲，去迪斯尼乐园。他们摆脱工作，从容地做很多事情，知道精疲力尽。然后，当他们结束休假回到工作中的时候，他们就希望在第一次休假之后，再休第二次假来放松一下。这只会使他们在工作中一直不开心并且觉得他们从未获得过成功。这就是为什么每年至少要休一次假是如此重要的原因，在那里你什么都不需要做。如果休假意味着抽出一点时间呆在家里，那么就那样做吧。另一个放松的很好的方法是在靠近海边的地方租一栋房子。每个早上抬起头，晒晒太阳，吃些午餐，然后回到屋里睡一个午觉。一个正真放松的假期将帮助你再次充满活力，并且在你回来后，帮助你更好的处理压抑的工作环境。

    11）周末不要干任何事情。没错。不要制订计划。不要被差遣。不要去商业街。不要找一些活动去做。只呆在家里放松一下。令人放松的假期的原理在这里也同样适用。过一个忙碌的周末会使你累趴下，并且当星期一到来的时候会使你感到辛苦和无助。在一段很短的时间内享受一个什么也不做的周六和周末，和在一段长时间内休一个令人放松的假有一样的效果。在冗长的一周内，你要面对无理性的老板，令人生气的同事，压倒性的工作量和长时间的通勤，在此之后，一个放松的周末会帮助你恢复活力。周六和周末的存在就是因为这个理由。把他们利用起来吧。

    12) 找一个好的电视节目。找一个你喜欢的的节目并且沉浸其中。看一个每周一集的连续剧或者长时间的戏剧的兴趣和兴奋使这周看起来过得快一些。这好像你有每周一次的发泄途径，没有人可以剥夺。当你坐下来看节目的时候，你沉浸在那个世界里，你被它的情结牢牢吸引，情感也被其中的角色牵绊着。它提供了一个很好的每周一次逃离朝九晚五的工作的途径。我最喜欢的是迷失、24、和办公室.迷失特别能吸引我，并且很有可能是最好的电视节目。

    遵照这12条小贴士，那么你的工作生涯会有很大的提高。