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How to like what we do, if we cannot love it entirely
7th February 2018 | Career AdviceMotivational
Let’s be honest. We all know that only a minor percentage of working population is blessed with “a dream job“, but it doesn’t mean we cannot like what we do, even if we don’t love it.
Various scholarly articles and reports suggest a rise in Temping, Contracting and job hopping. Employees change their jobs far more rapidly than two decades ago. While our previous generations were happy with a “job for life”, we intend to change it every three to five years. This phenomenon springs from numerous grounds and undoubtedly lack of job satisfaction is one of them.
I am not trying to write a scholarly article here dissecting facts and figures, as it would be beyond the reach of this post. Instead, I’d like to share a few thoughts on “how to like our jobs if we cannot love it” and “how to make the best of every working day”.
Repetition
Haruki Murakami says: “The repetition itself becomes the important thing.” Many years ago, as a young student of Fine Art, I was assigned to fill in a whole A4 drawing notebook trying to draw a straight line, free hand and without the help of a ruler. I cannot begin to tell you how dull this task appeared to me. Nevertheless, as soon as I noticed that I actually could draw perfect straight lines, I started to like this monotonous and mundane task. This is just to say that repetition leads to competency and competency drives to attachment!
Don’t stop until you are proud
Take ownership of what you do. Sometimes, depends on the nature of your role, you might not have complete ownership of the task. Yet, no matter how small the task, work towards merit. Do not be shortsighted and think long term. In every single task, you are building your own future whilst working for your employer. Don’t forget that “you are your brand”.
Plan your journey
Working days can be extremely arid if you live it on a day to day manner. Know where you’re going and open up your horizon. Once you know where you are heading towards, then you can check your “today’s tasks” against the “future goals”. Your today’s to-do list is the tomorrow’s success. Identify those types of works more aligned with your liking and future goals. Then count the rest of the tasks as transferable skills. Is there anything else at work you can put yourself forward, which might be mutually useful for your current employer and you?
By all means, I am not suggesting to ignore your employer’s objectives and goals. Quite the opposite, I’m recommending to work smarter and make the best of today’s opportunities.
Think and assess your practices
Sometimes work reviews can be constructive and truly helpful, but this is not always guaranteed. YOU consider a review for your self! Take a day off to check and measure your practices. It’s worth it.
Love yourself
Happiness at work is not separated from your general state of being. The healthier you are physically the better you think and perform. Love yourself and take good care of YOU.
Nushin Nahidpour – Author
