Step 1 to changing your life is to acknowledge the need for change. It sounds simple but getting to Step 1 wasn't easy or straightforward for me.

Looking back I can see that I tried to make a change in a number of different ways. I job hopped.

I changed countries. Each new role gave me enough challenge and learning to keep me going for a while but boredom and restlessness typically kicked in after about 18 months.

About 7-8 years ago I took a sabbatical for 5 months, but then went back to my old job as I didn't really know what else to do.

I began to see a pattern in my dissatisfaction - and realised that it probably wasn't the jobs or the companies that were wrong. It was me.

I was doing the wrong job. The final straw was when a friend I hadn't seen for a while asked me if I still hated my job. I had become one of "those" people.

Not only was I miserable but it had become a primary conversation topic.