For just about any kind of career that you could think of, New York City is the big leagues. This is where the best and brightest young professionals in the world come to prove themselves, and where the biggest successes remain to run the show. Manhattan and the New York City area around it are known around the world for a reason. This is truly the “Capital of the World.”
If you’re smart, hard-working, and determined to make something of yourself, then you have every reason to be in New York City. But be careful, because making it here won’t be easy. What will be easy is allowing your stressful career and its lofty goals to affect your mental health — sparking a vicious cycle that could derail both your career and your personal life.
Happiness, mental health, and your career
Most people associate success with things that sound, at least in a vacuum, unpleasant. We think of success as something earned through long, laborious hours. We assume that we need to grind away at our goals even when we’re tired and even when we feel like giving up. And we’re right — to a point.
But remember this: Nobody ever succeeded on willpower and suffering alone. The will to work hard and suffer for your goals stems from a real belief in those goals. To find the strength within you to succeed, you’ll need to care about your work. You’ll need to find it fulfilling, and you’ll need to maintain your happiness and your mental health.
If you work long hours without giving yourself a break, you’ll “burn out.” Burnout is a very real condition with symptoms that include a lack of interest in one’s work and low energy levels. Similarly, grinding away at work you don’t care for will result in uninspired work. You may put in the hours, but how will you change the world if you aren’t constantly dreaming about your career? How, for that matter, will you project the right image to clients, customers, and business partners? Loving your work is what will allow you to deliver that work effectively.
None of this is news to Howard Fensterman, an accomplished attorney who knows plenty about succeeding in the New York City area. Fensterman has shared plenty of wisdom regarding productivity and driving for success, and he — like many other experts — sees a clear connection between mental health and career success.
Building and maintaining your mental health in New York City
New York City is not a place that goes easy on your mental health. The notoriously long work hours that New Yorkers put in are bad for your work-life balance and can lead to burnout. The busy city can feel anonymizing and crushing. If you’re going to keep your mind healthy and your energy levels high, you’ll need to make proactive investments in your mental health care.
That starts with professional help. Just as you seek out doctors for help with your physical health, so should you seek out therapists in New York for regular mental health care. A good therapist can help you tackle everything that endangers your mental health, from your personal relationships to your work-related stress.
Those dedicated to building a successful career shouldn’t stop with regular therapy, though. Career counseling and therapy treatments focused on work and stress are a great idea for professionals of all ages. Talking through issues, you could gain perspective, reignite your passion for your work, and gain valuable strategies for managing conflict in the workplace. All of those things will be assets as you try to advance your career in New York City.
