I feel thankful.
As many of you know (either from reading the blog or from knowing me in real life), I work in a counselor-type position at a mental health day program for children and adolescents. I could lie to you and tell you that I love my job every day of the week, but that’s not necessarily true. There are days when my job drives me crazy! Working with children (and their parents sometimes moreso) can be tiring. If you have worked with kids before you know the feeling.
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Naturally there are times when I feel stressed. This past week has been one of those times for me. The days have felt long. The clients’ behaviors have been severe. I have felt tired. Despite feeling stressed, however, I have also felt something else. I have felt thankful. I have felt thankful to have a job and to work in such a positive work environment. I work with an amazing set of co-workers. Most of us are younger so we share some common interests, and we are 100% supportive of one another. I truely mean that. We laugh with each other, make fun of each other, joke around, and encourage each other. I always feel supported by the people with whom the people I work with directly. We are able to take time during the work day and even outside of the workplace to de-stress by venting and problem-solving about the clients with whom we work.
This positive work environment makes all of the difference for me. By working with individuals who I trust and respect, I feel more confident in my own abilities and more optimistic about the work we do each day. I can go home after a terrible day at work still knowing that I did my best and that I have people who support me at my workplace. That is the best feeling to have.
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***Tell me: Do you work in a positive environment? What are your co-workers like? Do you work well with them?
Let Me Be What's Underneath 
Up until last week, I worked in a place where I loved my co-workers, but the management made it a negative work experience. I have started a new job though, and I love it. I still haven’t really had the time to develop those positive relationships with my coworkers yet, but hopefully it will come.
P.S. I love your blog!
It’s great that you love your current job, Lisa! Thanks so much for the comment and positive feedback. Please share my blog with others, and “like” me on Facebook! 🙂
I just started a new job so I don’t quite have that wonderful support system yet. I totally agree with you that you have to really focus on that fact that you are fortunate to have a job in times when you’re feeling overwhelmed, unhappy, or stressed.
Hope you are adjusting well to your new job. It can definitely be tough to start something new! Thanks for the comment 🙂
I have to say I’m envious of your job – sure it’s a challenging one, but it’s a rewarding one, you are changing lives with your work, seriously! I’ve been thinking long and hard about my career, would love to do something more fulfilling, like becoming an RD, but it just feels so insurmountable to make such an aggressive career change so far into my current career (not to mention paying the bills!).
Thanks Jess! My job is definitely very rewarding. The positives outweigh the negatives and all of the stress that I sometimes experience. I love working with kids, and I really couldn’t picture myself doing anything else at this point in my life!