1. Begin focusing on what you want instead of how much you want to escape. When you find yourself sharing the latest horror story, stop in mid-sentence and say, “What I want to have is…”

2. Create an image that describes you in your job. Are you on a riverbank with no way to get to the other side? Lost in a jungle? Poking through a thorny hedge? When you get comfortable with the image, begin visualizing a change in the obstacle. Imagine building a bridge across the river or finding a path in the forest. Don’t force the image or the change. When you’re ready it will come.

3. Think of developing skills, not serving time.
Take every course that’s offered and focus on skills that can lay a foundation for your own business or next job. Can you learn HTML or PowerPoint? Can you use some evenings, weekends and lunch hours to solicit some free lance gigs?

4. Focus on satisfactory, not superior performance. Use the time difference to build your new life. People often say, “I can’t do anything — I work ten hours a day!”

If you are firing yourself or expecting to be fired, your job is finding a new job. Be ethical: you owe your company the minimum you need to earn your salary.” But don’t be surprised if you start to accomplish more than ever and find yourself getting promoted.

5. What conflict are you escaping? Dishonesty? Corporate greed? Hypocrisy? Allow yourself to wonder if these qualities are mirrored