Fuzzy Battles: Unhappiness Vs. Dissatisfaction

I find that one of the toughest things to differentiate is every feeling of dissatisfaction versus actual unhappiness. Dissatisfaction can include: boredom, a feeling of a lack of fulfillment, dissension, even anger, rage, or resentment. But in the end, does it actually equate unhappiness?

For instance, I know for a fact that I'm not necessarily happy with my current situation. I feel unchallenged, like I'm stuck in a rut, and like there's really not much to look forward to every day. It's just the same old, same old, just a different voice complaining about the exact thing a screechy voice complained about the day before. There's no real excitement, and without any big projects for me to handle, it's just a list of weekly tasks that read off like a study in the mundane. Phones, follow ups, letters, reports.

It's not that my job is hard. It's not. And multi-tasking may be challenging for some, but I do it without even thinking.

The thing is, though, that I can't help but feel unappreciated for what I have to offer, like an untapped resource. I don't like to be completely in over my head in terms of stress level, but I like a faster pace, and most of all, I just really want to do what I want to do. I want to be able to work on my creative chops, and more and more, as I grow more successful with my writing, it frustrates me that I'm spending my time at a job, not building a career. A massive difference.

So then what is it? Am I actually unhappy or just a malcontent? This is a terrible economy to be considering not just sucking it up, since I know I should be grateful I have some semblance (even if it's only a surface impression) of financial security, and I should be extremely grateful for what has been done for me in the past couple of years. But is that enough? Does it outweigh the extreme boredom, the lack of gratification and recognition, the glass ceiling for aspirations and compensation, irritation about the fuzzy parameters of my responsibility, bitterness about the latter items, or the gray hairs that stem from being subjected to unpleasantness every day? One has to wonder ...