Here’s a harsh reality you need to accept sooner rather than later:

Your work environment isn’t going to magically change because you don’t like it.

🛑 Your boss will still be toxic.

🛑 Meetings are a waste of time.

🛑 Your peers will throw you under the bus to save their ass. 

🛑 Office politics are a part of the office like the carpeting is. 

🛑 If your career doesn’t provide a sense of purpose, meaning, and fulfillment, wishing it did won’t change anything.

It’s time to stop expecting work to change; it’s time to focus on what you can change:

Yourself.

These 5 Stoic quotes will help:

1. “If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now.” 

Marcus Aurelius

This quote underscores the Stoic belief in the power of perception and interpretation. 

It suggests that finding fulfillment and purpose is not necessarily about changing your external circumstances (like your career) but how you perceive and react to those circumstances.

2.”Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will—then your life will flow well.” 

Epictetus

Epictetus encourages embracing life as it comes, including one’s career. 

This quote supports the idea that finding meaning and fulfillment involves aligning one’s desires with reality and taking responsibility for one’s reactions and emotions.

3.“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” 

Seneca

My personal favorite. Seneca’s words reflect the Stoic value of contentment and the idea that fulfillment comes from within, not external achievements or possessions. 

This can be applied to one’s career by focusing on personal growth and contribution rather than outward signs of success.

4. “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” 

Marcus Aurelius

The quote reinforces that happiness and fulfillment don’t come from external circumstances, such as career success, but from internal attitudes and perspectives.

5.“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.” 

Epictetus

This quote focuses on what you can control—your actions, efforts, and attitudes—while accepting what you cannot control. 

It suggests that one can find purpose and fulfillment by actively engaging with and shaping one’s career while accepting its unpredictability and challenges.

Your job may not change, but you certainly can. 

Embracing these quotes is a start, but taking action on them is where genuine change flows.

What’s one action you can take that aligns with the quotes?

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