Enjoying What You Do

One of the most important decisions we make in our lives is what we choose to do professionally. As we seek to live out our best life, a major portion of it involves finding something meaningful to do in our work.

But that’s not to say that you need to change lives or solve world problems to find fulfillment in life. Enjoying what we do is more about our relationship to our work than it is the work itself.

A man who helps kids cross the street after school can find more fulfillment in their work than the founder of a nonprofit. A mid-level employee can be more happy about their work than the CEO. And it goes even bigger - with the social impact work I do in Mexico, I notice that families who have so little feel like they have so much more than we do (as the group that has come to serve them).

And that’s because enjoying what you do is all about the spirit with which you do it, not what it is you do itself.

When unchecked, it can lead to a recurring problem. People who are unhappy, unchallenged, and uninspired by their work may seek employment somewhere else. Sure, the work itself might not have been a good match for that that individual… But very often when the novelty of a new job fades, they go back to feeling the same way about their work even though they’re in a new role.

There’s an expression that reads “Wherever you go, there you are” and it’s a comment on being present. But in this context, it also speaks to our relationship with where we find ourselves in life. We cannot separate our own perspective from our perception of things. We are always seeing what’s happening around us through a certain lens. And for those who are unhappy with their work, they see every job they’re in through this same lens.

The fastest way to build a more positive relationship with anything is through gratitude. Writing down what you’re grateful for literally trains your mind to see the world through a more positive lens. And my encouragement to anyone, whether you’re happy in your work or not, is to get into a gratitude practice because it makes that much of a difference.

In summary, enjoying what you do, wherever you go, is more about the spirit you do it with. So rather than thinking that there’s something wrong with where you are, try improving the way you relate with where you are. Because that positivity is something you take with you everywhere you go.

If you want to get into a gratitude habit but in general struggle to stay consistent with anything, and need help being more structured in the way you take on new habits, I’ve put together the 21 Day Super Habits Challenge to help you transform your consistency and self-discipline.