I had many, many, many jobs before I truly found what I was meant to do. Many.
MANY! All of these jobs were a means to an end. That said, if you get up every morning and dread going to work, then for goodness sakes WHY are you doing it?!? You are sure as hell NOT doing it for you.
Let’s get real for a moment.
We are not all lucky enough to love our jobs. In fact, it’s rare if anyone truly loves what they do 100% of the time. If you do you – excellent! You’re an anomaly! If you don’t, there are small things that you can do to jumpstart the love affair – with your work not your “job”. Remember: nothing is forever. This is just what you are doing “for now”.
I like to think of the 80/20 rule: If you love it 80% of the time, you are doing pretty good. (Great, actually.)
Before you can love your work, it’s important to be able to distinguish your WORK from your JOB.
What do I mean?
Your work is the actually stuff you pay attention to during the day.
Your job is the title, the role description, the company, the ethics, the politics, etc.
Think of it this way: If you’re a nurse, your job is to do nurse-like things. Give needles. Check temperature. Report to doctors. Write in charts. Insert catheters. Etc. Your work is providing care, giving comfort and friendship, communicating clearly and building relationships with patients, managing skillsets, learning new medical procedures, etc.
So how do you love the work portion? Here are 5 easy steps to rekindle the flame:
- Remember why you are doing what you do.
You do this work for a reason (if you don’t, then quit!) Forget about all the BS that comes with a job and truly think about why you are doing it. If you know your “why” and focus on that, all the stuff you don’t enjoy becomes part of the background.
- Focus on the parts that you enjoy.
These are the golden nuggets. They are the parts that make your heart sing. These are the parts you can love.
- Know what challenges you; actively seek those challenges.
They may scare you. They’ll also push you out of your comfort zone. Bonus: you may find another thing you love to do.
- Be curious, ask questions, soak in the knowledge around you.
If you work alone find others who do the same kind of work and share ideas. You’d be surprised how many people want to share their ideas. Keeping good company keeps things fresh and fun.
- Never stop learning.
There is a reason you are doing the work you have chosen, learning will keep you interested or take you down a different path, either way it’s a great thing.