Picture a fish. Any regular fish would do.

Picture a desert: the hot air, the dry sand, the burning sun.

Next, imagine this fish lying on the bare sand: arching its scaly body, blowing out its gills for air, desperate for water.

Now you may be thinking, why am I leading you through this cruel thought exercise, and should you report me to animal welfare.

Allow me to explain.

Should you quit your job? Milena Nguyen — *Let go of the fantasy that one day the clouds will part, heaven bells will ring, and you'll be hit with a jolt of courage to leap.*

"Should I quit my job?" is one of the most common questions my coaching clients grapple with.

If you’re also tossing and turning on your bed at night with this question, you likely belong to one of these 2 groups.

The first group is people who have what I call a "good enough" job.

It's not their dream job. There may be some issues, like annoying bosses and stressful deadlines once in a while. But there are also perks, such as free lunch, pleasant colleagues, generous pay.

Overall, the job is, well, good enough.

If this is you, the biggest reason behind your dissatisfaction may not be the job itself, but the fact that you're not acting on a calling that has been tucking away at your heart.

Just like a client I'd call Ruth, who longed to teach yoga but felt stuck in her job at an insurance company. Or Lesley, who yearned to express herself through writing and video blogging, felt trapped by her career at an education institute.

What can work wonders for you is letting go of the idea that you have to quit your job to start your dream.

Let go of the fantasy that one day the clouds will part, heaven bells will ring, and you'll be hit with a jolt of courage to take that leap of faith.

Instead, do the opposite: give yourself permission to stay at your job for as long as you need.

Look at your weekends and evenings and see how you can take easy, small actions to follow your calling.

Over and over again, I've seen clients light up once they let themselves take even the smallest action.

Ruth started teaching yoga to her colleagues once a week after work. Lesley did her first Facebook live stream sharing her story.

Once they get to express their creative energy, the dissatisfaction they feel about their work slowly dissolves.

They may still quit their job eventually or may keep it for their own reasons. But what matters is they're doing something that makes their heart sing.

The second group is people who're suffering in a soul-sucking job.

This is where the fish comes in.

If just thinking about Monday makes you want to cry. If you're dragging yourself to work every day feeling absolutely drained. If you've been trying to cope for months but still dying inside…

What may serve you best right now is simply to quit.

This job is likely at odds with your values and needs. You may be a creative person who’s chained on a desk crunching numbers. Or a sensitive soul who has to hustle in a high-pressure sales job.

In this case, no amount of coping will help you thrive.

Remember that fish? No amount of coping will help it live well in the desert.

You don't need anyone's permission to quit. There's nothing virtuous about grinding your nose at a job that makes you want to bang your head on the wall. No one will hand you a trophy for "best sufferer."

Let's come back to our thought exercise at the beginning. What would you do if you saw that fish?

You'd scoop it up and bring it to water.

Do the same thing to yourself!

Even though the idea of quitting can trigger terror in you, know that the fear you're feeling is just your mind telling you a doom's day scenario.

What I've seen, again and again, is when a client quits their soul-sucking job, doors open up, new opportunities pour in, they meet the right person, in the right place, at the right time.

A few months after quitting her job, Tina randomly ran into an investor and ended up founding a start-up on a field she loved.

Sheer coincidence? Maybe. But it feels more like a divine arrangement to me.

The Universe is waiting at your door with a gift basket. But if your house is packed with what's not right for you, the Universe can't deliver.

The moment you let it all go, space opens up, goodness flow in.

Have a little faith in the Universe, and choose to have a little faith in yourself. You'll be okay, I promise.

*The Universe is waiting at your door with a gift basket. But when your house is packed with what's not right for you, the Universe can't deliver.*

Now, if you feel motivated to quit your job already but it’s still so scary that you don't know what to do, here are some ideas:

1. Set a date

Mark a nearby date by which you'll quit your job on your calendar. Yup. It’s that simple.

2. Tell other people

After deciding to quit, a friend of mine met up with someone he recently reconnected with at a bar. After listening to my friend's agony (and a drinking few beers), the guy pulled up his computer and wrote the resignation letter for him right then and there.

My friend sent the letter the same night. A few months later, he was offered a much better job.

A caveat here is that you must tell the right person.

Often friends you just met or even strangers are better people to share this than your mother or spouse. Someone too close to you can be protective and emotionally biased.

A coach, career counselor, or objective mentor are also excellent people to share this with.

Finally, I know that even after reading this, you may still hold on to the soul-sucking job. It's okay. Feel free to procrastinate as much as you need.

But know that your soul - being such an excellent guide - will not stop sending you signals that you're not where you belong.

You can try to drown out that voice for as long as you want.

Sooner or later, in one way or the other, you'll need to make a move.

So why not now, my beautiful fish?

The ocean awaits!