Help is at hand from Mary Curran, who runs the Coaching Centre. Mary helps people find the work they love through a range of seminars and courses that aim to uncover her clients' hidden talents and, ultimately, their ideal career.

Mary says that her clients come from all walks of life and, although many of them are in their 20's, she takes people right up to the age of 65.They come to her for a variety of reasons - for example, they could have been passed over for promotion or feel the career ladder has been taken away from them. Mary attempts to get to the root of what is stopping them from reaching their potential.

According to Mary, many of her clients share one thing - the comfort zone.

"They have a nice house, two cars but an empty heart. They are afraid of change. You have to go into their belief system and find out what motivates them."

It may be that you don't need a total career change but that you need to alter something about the way you work - your responsibility levels or your working environment. But if you're not happy at work then other things can suffer - your health, your family life and your fellow workers. It can be hard to leave the comfort zone and try something new but surely it's worth if it means you come home and avoid kicking Tibbles over the back fence.

All this is not to say that you should tell your boss where to stick his Post-its and rush out and ask FÁS about their rock star apprenticeships. Wild, crazy dreams, sadly have to be put into perspective before you take the next step. Could you be happy in your present job if circumstances changed? Have you put your future career to the test with volunteer work to see if you are suited to it?

According to Mary, we are put on the earth to excel and people can't do this until they find the work they love. You might have no idea what this is but that is what these seminars and courses are for. Your next step might be something you never imagined yourself doing.

"A chap was on one of my courses - he worked in an office and he was separated. From the start, I could see that he had a tremendous energy to do with his mind and he subsequently decided to do a degree course in psychoanalysis by night."

Other success stories include an accountant who has since become a beauty therapist and a nurse's assistant who has become an artist.

Looking for another job, let alone another career, is difficult to say the least. But if you can get past the fear and the frustration, you might find something that makes you happy. One of the questions that Mary poses is, "If you won a million pounds in the Lotto, would you still do the work you are doing today?" If your company would receive a postcard from Brazil as soon as the plane touched down, then perhaps you should consider some career counselling.