Do you leap out of bed in the morning looking forward to the day ahead?

Do you love your job and find that your working day goes past in the blink of an eye?

Are you a solicitor, secretary, scientist or social worker because your parents or your careers teacher thought it was a good idea?

Would you choose to do your job, even if you were not being paid? No?

Well, take heart because the same goes for others! So many individuals are working in jobs which they find unfulfilling and meaningless. Many work in jobs which are inappropriate for them, simply because the pay is good. Others don't even have the sweetener of a decent hourly rate to make them feel better about what they are doing.

How do we find a career which will do more than keep the roof over our head? How do we bring joy and excitement back into our working lives? How can we find a way of fulfilling our life's purpose through our work?

The first step is to think about our aptitudes. If we do something we have a talent for, life instantly becomes easier. If we are good at something it usually means we are able to excel at that thing in the workplace and this makes it easier to achieve and enjoy professional success.

A client worked as a wages clerk. The pay was quite good but she hated the work as she had always struggled with figures. She faced every working day with fear and dread. Working with her coach she explored career possibilities and sat the MAPP assessment tool which highlighted the possibility of using her creative writing skills in the workplace. The client looked around for another job and found a very junior position in a large PR company. There were some drawbacks - a longer commute and a longer working day. However, she decided to take the job and now declares this as the best move she ever made. Work became a joy.

What are you good at? What lessons did you look forward to at school? What have you chosen to study since school? What do you choose to do in your spare time? Think about your talents. Are you using them?

The next step is to consider your values - the thoughts and feelings which are part of you at an unconscious level. A client recently left the employ of one of the large supermarket groups because the way they conducted their business breached her personal values. The client tells us that her working life has improved immeasurably because she is now standing up for her beliefs.

What are your values? What do you get "hot around the collar" about? Can you clearly identify your personal values blueprint? The big challenge is to determine exactly what our aptitudes and values are. So often we live our lives in a way which is appropriate for others. We push our own needs down, we adapt our behaviour to fit what is required and we lose touch with who we really are.

We cannot expect to wear shoes which do not fit us, without discomfort. So why do we expect to be happy in jobs which are the wrong "size" for us?

Donnie Harrison is a personal coach and professional mentor working with individuals who are building private professional practices, especially in the healthcare sector. Further information from http://donnieharrison.com