The majority of Americans dislike their jobs and would do something different for work if given a choice. This is a very sad statistic, seeing as how the average person spends just about 1/3 of their day at work.

While the obvious solution to this problem is to just find another job, for various reasons – ranging from uncertainty about true passion to having to focus on other life priorities – most times it is not as simple as walking into your boss’ office and handing in your resignation letter.

Finding the right opportunity takes time. You don’t want to rush into another job where you end up with the same feelings of boredom and regret 3 months in.

Here are 4 ways to make the switch from a job you hate to one you love, so you can get back to focusing on the good things in life – rather than on how much you don’t want to go into work every morning.

How to Handle Your Job While Searching for the Job You Actually Want

1. Shift your mindset

While it can be demotivating to go to a job day after day that you are less than enthusiastic about, focusing on the negative aspects will just bring about more negativity. At one point in the past you were able to find something about your job that made you work there in the first place, right? Go back to that place.

Acknowledge what you’ve learned during your time there. Did you build a great network? Expand your skills? Brave new experiences? Make a list of all the positive things that have come from working at your current job and leave the negativity in the past.

2. Determine your next steps

Now that you can see clearly where you’ve come from and what you’ve learned, focus your attention on where you want to be. Take some time to drill down to exactly what you want your next job to look like.

It’s important to be as specific as possible, so you should take as much time as you need to visualize and think about this.  Don’t just say “I want a new job”, but think about your new job title, location, pay range, boss’ personality and even list of possible companies. In order to get your mind ready for the upcoming change, your goal needs to feel real to you.

3. Create an action plan

After your goals have been finalized, it’s time to chart out your plan. This is what takes your future out of daydream mode and into an actual attainable goal. Working backwards from the overall goal, break it down into smaller goals. Within each small goal, write down the action steps you need to take to accomplish each one.

Be sure to be as thorough as possible and think each goal through from start to finish.

4. Hold yourself accountable

Now this is what separates the dreamers from the doers. You’ve changed your perspective, determined what your next steps are, and even written out your plan. What’s next? Implement it!

Attach a due date to each goal you’ve created in your action plan and get to work. Tell someone you trust about your plans and ask them to help you stay on track. Check in often and re-work your plan as necessary.

Remember, you are in control of your emotions – not your job, your boss, or your co-workers. Once you take your attention off of what you hate about your job, and shift to thinking about the possibilities of the future, your emotions will follow suit. A woman who is busy accomplishing her goals doesn’t have time to wallow in negativity and despair.