Being satisfied and happy in your work is not always easy to achieve. That result is realized from a number of factors that come together in your favor. What you do for work and how you experience it are shaped by multiple influences, not the least of which is the influence of family.

You might not think that your parents’ early expectations of you, their own particular career choices and work patterns, or the family environment they created while you were growing up would affect your work-related decisions as an adult. But, in many cases, any of those factors could have a lasting and significant effect on what you perceive as your career options as well as on your work behaviors.

Take for example the case of a man who, in an attempt to win approval from his emotionally unavailable father, pursued the same career field as his dad, only to find out it was not a good choice for him. If he stayed with the career, he might find that even 30 years later it is difficult to contemplate a different career path, particularly if he had not resolved unfinished issues with his father.

The difficulty in that scenario is not just that the person feels stuck in a career for which he is not suited; he probably doesn’t even know why he’s stuck. His rational and logical mind may not understand that his lack of action stems from subtler, emotional issues that are at the root of his dismay.

Some people are fearful or anxious in certain situations or with particular types of people. In the workplace, they may become “paralyzed” in their thinking and not able to make significant contributions to their work. One of the reasons for this pattern may be a childhood environment that was violent, chaotic or shaming. When people or conditions remind adults of their difficult childhood environments, they may revert back to behaviors and feelings they learned as adaptations to stressful childhood situations.

While our culture seems to encourage busy-ness and productivity, work behaviors influenced by one’s childhood experiences can also contribute to a learned pattern of overworking. Children look to parents as models of how to be in the world. When one or both parents demonstrate an all or nothing attitude or behavior towards work, children take in a message that you “live to work” or that it’s impossible to satisfactorily integrate work into life. With either message, the legacy passed on can shape a life in adulthood that lacks wholeness with a satisfying career path.

If you resonate with any of these examples, or if you have noticed a pattern in your work history that keeps you from achieving your goals and desires, consider the influences. The purpose of this exercise is not to blame anyone for your experience, but rather to put today’s reality into a perspective that includes the past. Perhaps in so doing, you will bring into clearer focus the pattern and ways to begin to shift it.

Awareness is the first step to change.