When all is not well with work, what do you do?  Do you quickly 
get frustrated and feel discontent?  Do you look at each 
situation as a tiresome challenge or as an opportunity to learn 
something new? Have you ever considered looking at work problems 
from a spiritual point of view?  

Sought-after career coach and author of the critically-acclaimed 
book, The Dark Before the Dawn: 70 Secrets to Self-discovery, 
Theresa Castro suggests that when you look at work from a 
spiritual perspective, you will see that there are lessons for 
you to learn.  

Let’s look at a couple of situations that you or someone you know 
may have encountered.  We will look at each scenario from a 
typical perspective and from a spiritual perspective.


DIFFICULTY WITH BOSS OR CO-WORKER

Normally, we think that a difficult boss is just that, difficult. 
By all means, you are probably not the first person who didn’t 
get along with them. Therefore, it can’t be you who needs to 
change and instead the boss needs to change.

From a spiritual way of thinking, you should ask yourself, “What 
is this person trying to teach me?”  (And we’re not talking about 
job tasks.) Think for a moment, what is it about this person that 
really aggravates you? Make a list of all of their annoying 
attributes.  How does this person make you feel?  What bothers 
you the most? Compare the boss’s or co-worker’s list of 
attributes to your own behaviors. What characteristics do you 
have in common?  

Looking at the situation from this perspective, you suddenly 
realize that the characteristics that annoy you are the same 
characteristics that you embody.  Recognize and appreciate your 
boss or co-worker since they are showing you what you need to 
change.  If your characteristics are not similar, look for the 
lesson that they are teaching you. 


NOT GETTING A WELL-DESERVED PAY RAISE OR PROMOTION

First of all, let’s assume that your employer is not having any 
financial difficulties and is giving raises to other employees. 
Normally, we would think that our boss or employer is a louse and 
a cheapskate.  We would wonder why we are the only person that 
did not get a raise.  

Looking at this situation from a spiritual perspective, we need 
to reflect upon why this is happening to you and to nobody else. 
Think about how you value yourself and your work. Do you sub-
consciously think that you are not worthy of a pay raise?  You 
will discover that the perception of not being worthy begins with 
yourself and your mindset.  It is your self image that gets 
projected outwards. Others “see” the image that you have for 
yourself and act in accordance with your very own beliefs.  

Instead of being angry with your employer, work towards 
increasing your self-worth.  Once, you raise your self-worth then 
the rest of the world will recognize your shift and act 
accordingly by paying you what you are worth.


YOU HATE YOUR JOB AND YOU JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANOTHER DAY

When you hate your job, it is easy to blame your employer for the 
many reasons why you despise your job. Perhaps, you are upset 
because your boss denied your vacation request or maybe you are 
bothered by the fact that you are far more qualified and talented 
than the person who is your supervisor.  

From a spiritual perspective, have you looked at why you are 
staying at a job that you hate so much? You might say something 
like, “I have excellent health benefits and can’t risk changing 
companies.” Or “I have already spent fifteen years with this 
company and I would lose my retirement if I left.”  Keep in mind 
that all of these “reasons” are just excuses.  That’s right just 
excuses.  

Instead of getting upset with your employer, you need to look at 
why you are feeling so challenged about leaving.  What is really 
keeping you there? Most of the time, we stay in a job that we 
hate because of fear. Fear of the unknown.  Fear that you can’t 
get the same or better health insurance.  Fear that you would 
fail in a new job.  Fear of being too old. Fear of anything and 
everything.  It is fear that truly keeps you stuck in a place 
that you really don’t want to be.  


If you take the time to explore your fears, you will realize that 
you are being called to take a new direction in your career. 
Once you let go of the fear and accept change, you will see that 
you should have left your job a long time ago.

Whatever challenge you are given at work, look beyond the 
situation at the surface level.  What is really happening? What 
is the situation trying to teach you?  When you incorporate this 
new way of thinking into your life, you will find that your 
difficulties are in reality blessings in disguise. 

Theresa Castro, MBA, is career coach,
speaker and author of critically
acclaimed book, The Dark Before the
Dawn: 70 Secrets to Self-discovery. 
Visit http://www.DiscoverYourDreamJob.com
to sign-up for a free 3 day mini-course.