I know one man who says he likes work. It fascinates him. He says he can sit and watch it for hours.
He was probably the same guy who went to his supervisor to ask for a raise.
“I am already planning on giving you a raise,” she said.
“Oh, great!” he said. “When will it be effective?”
“As soon as you are!” shouted the boss. (Do you know that man?)
Someone said, "Find a job that you love, and you'll never work a day in your life."
Some people are fortunate enough to be able to find a job they love. But not everyone can follow their bliss into the marketplace. I’ve had jobs where my motto was closer to “Early to bed and early to rise, ‘till you make enough money to do otherwise.” I had to decide to at least try to like what I do, since I did not find myself doing what I liked.
There are benefits to learning to enjoy at least parts of what we do if we can’t do what we love. It stands to reason that the more pleasure we find in our work, the more effective and successful we will become. And usually we will make more money. But mainly, who wants to spend a life dreading to climb out of the bed every morning only to spend the rest of the day watching the clock tick off endless minutes and hours?
Can you concentrate more on the aspects of your work that you enjoy? Can you find ways to develop nurturing relationships in your workplace? Can you remember why you are working: to educate your children or to save for retirement? Can you see yourself less as chipping stones and more as building a temple…in other words, can you see the big picture of what you do all day? Are there ways you can serve others in your work environment? All of these techniques and others can help you to learn to find more enjoyment at work.
It was the mystic Kahil Gibran who put it this way: “Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love, but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and ask for alms of those who work with joy.”
If you can’t do what you love ALL of the time, can you learn to enjoy what you do MORE of the time?
-- Steve Goodier
Image: flickr.com/Carlos Rodrigo