(From Forbes) -- If the US economy is going to rebound, people need to become more satisfied with their work.   Based on a job satisfaction survey conducted by Glassroom.com, 40% of employees are satisfied at work, while 27% say their jobs are “ok” and 33% are dissatisfied at work.  If you don’t like what you do, how can your productivity and performance at work increase? How can organizations grow and compete when their employees lack competitive hunger?  As much as an organization is responsible to provide their employees the leadership, workplace culture and tools to thrive, the employee is equally as accountable to find satisfaction in their careers.

In today’s economy, you can’t predict the future based on the past.  However, one thing is certain: you must find your own career satisfaction and success.   Today you must continuously focus on creating opportunities for advancement.   You must invest in yourself more than ever before so that you can discover the talents that you enjoy using most and how to best apply them in your work.  Most employers claim to invest in their people, but do so with their best interest always in mind.   It doesn’t mean they don’t care about you; they just care more about themselves.  This harsh reality requires you, as an individual, to reset your thinking so that you do not fall into the trap that most people fall into: staying stuck in their careers.

Here are five reasons people stay stuck in their careers and what you must avoid to find satisfaction and success in yours:

Stuck Factor #1: Avoid Confronting Change

Get out of your comfort zone and open your eyes to the most obvious opportunities in front of you.   Pay close attention to those that advance in their careers – they take chances, embrace risk and are not hesitant about putting ideas into action.

Use change as a learning tool.  The more you embrace change, the more comfortable you become with uncertainty and risk.   Learning to manage change and grow with it – helps you open your eyes to approaching renewal and reinvention as a necessity in your career that helps you achieve a distinct competitive advantage.

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