I use affirmations a lot. I am acutely aware that I can talk myself into or out of anything, and I can positively change the state of my mental health and well-being with affirmations that resonate with me. I can also negatively change my state with affirmations that don’t resonate with me. It’s all about choosing the right words.
I’ve recently written about a night shift job stocking shelves I’ve picked up to supplement my income, and while I hinted at it, I didn’t outright say that I wish I didn’t have to go into it. I think about quitting a lot.
How you talk to yourself matters.
When I first started, I was listening to a song called ‘Creep’ by Radiohead on repeat at work. It has a line about how ‘I don’t belong here!’ and that affirmation made me want to quit every single night I worked.
I eventually had to stop listening to the song because it was making me anxious as I asked myself, “What the hell am I doing here?”
I use a lot of affirmations because I know that affirmations are important to a happy life, so I figured I would share some common affirmations I use to get through my night shift job that I would rather not be at.
If you find yourself wanting to quit your job often too, these affirmations might inspire you to create some of your own that ensure you hang on to your job for the time you need to.
1. I’m Getting Good Exercise
The fact is, I lost a quick 20 pounds within a month of working at this job. I didn’t change my eating habits. I just added 20,000 steps per day to my routine and do a full body workout on repeat for 7 hours.
Before taking this job, I wanted to exercise more.
I needed to exercise more.
I’m grateful that I’m able to do that at this job.
I try to look at it this way – I’m getting paid to exercise.
2. I’m Crushing My Walking Challenges
Because I’m getting 20,000 steps per day when I work, I’m killing my Conqueror challenges. I just finished one challenge that would have taken me months to finish before in TWO WEEKS!
In short, when I started to feel bad about how much I have to do at night, I remember that each movement is helping me crush my current walking challenge.
3. My Co-Workers Are Inspiring Creativity
I have a lot of angry, miserable co-workers. There’s a lot of complaining going on. And, as someone who can feel other people’s energy, there’s a lot of negative, unhappy energy coming from many of my co-workers.
Every time someone sighs, complains, or is rude to me, I could easily call it quits right there. It’s so hard to be around miserable people and not get sucked into their vortex.
When grumpiness ensues, I try to remember this affirmation.
The fact is that they all have stories and their behaviors, words, and actions give me ideas for writing content, which is ultimately what I want to get back to doing.
I also have some positive and neutral co-workers who inspire my writing.
The point is that while my co-workers are not exactly chatterboxes, I do get some bits of information that give me creative inspiration.
4. This Isn’t Permanent
This is probably my most used affirmation at work. When I see people who are stuck stocking shelves for the rest of their lives, and not enjoying it, I feel bad for them and scared for myself at the same time. This fear often makes me want to quit on the spot.
I know how easy it is to get stuck in a job, even if you hate it. That’s why I left a job working at a hospital years ago. There were many people there who had dreams and ambitions but ended up working there for 30+ years because it was the easier option.
I never wanted to get stuck anywhere.
I will not get stuck at this job.
This job is not permanent.
This is a blip in my life where I am doing what I need to do and soon it will be an experience I had, not my life.
5. It’s Not Personal
When a co-worker is rude to me or gives me a backhanded compliment, or acts as if I’m not even there – I have to remember that it’s not personal in order to not tell them off and quit on the spot.
For the most part, the co-workers who do that are people who have been there for a long time. They have seen a ton of people come and go. And they have seen a lot of bad workers in their time.
In fact, when talking to one woman, she said she’s seen at least 40 people start and quit or get fired in the past four years.
I think that many people who work full time there don’t have a lot of faith or trust in new people, and it stems from experience with other people.
So I try not to take it personally.
For instance, the other night I was telling a long-term co-worker (who doesn’t take her full breaks because she works so hard) that I would be fine working alone in my assigned aisle and she laughed out loud. I’m talking about a genuine from-the-gut-laugh you have when someone tells the funniest joke you’ve ever heard.
It was hard not to take that personally. But, I said this affirmation over and over again until I felt better.
And, I was able to handle the aisle by myself – even moving at a normal pace and taking my full breaks.
It’s not personal. It’s their perception, point of view, fears, and biases coming through.
6. I’m Taking Care Of Business
There are worse things than working at a job you don’t like or want to be at, such as not doing something to take care of your needs.
I’d feel worse if I was sitting around doing nothing and making our financial situation worse.
I’m doing what I need to do to ensure we are OK, and that feels good.
I’m helping to pay the bills, take care of our dog, and pay off debt.
This is an affirmation I use almost every night, especially when I feel like quitting. If it’s not this specifically, it’s a variation of it.
7. I’m Doing A Service For Other People
Every job helps out other people in some way, and stocking shelves is no exception.
If I wasn’t there stocking shelves, people may not get the products they want.
What if someone was depending on a grocery item to feed their loved one their last meal?
Or what if someone needed a grocery item to impress their new in-laws?
These are the things that I think about.
Everyone needs to eat.
Everyone likes to find the things that they are looking for in the grocery store.
And who knows what positive things their purchase will do for them in their lives.
Find Affirmations That Make You Feel Better If You Are Working At A Job You Don’t Like
The way you talk to yourself matters. Affirmations are important because they help you face your fears, get through things, and change the information in your subconscious mind that is keeping you in a negative state or where you don’t want to be.
If you are at a job you don’t like, but can’t quit, find affirmations that work for you.
Search out the positives of your job and turn them into positive affirmations. This will help you hang on to your job if you need to and make it through the day, evening, or night at work.
