I love getting back to work after vacation.
I know that probably makes me weird.
I’m okay with that.
I was recently in California with some friends. We had a great time. But by the end of the week, I started feeling antsy. I started listening to medical podcasts and reading medical blogs and looking up random, rare diseases. I was ready to get home and get to the clinic. I was ready to see some patients.
Why? Because, I love my work.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good vacation.
But still, it’s the work that calls to me.
What about you?
I know a lot of people that hate their jobs. It’s just something they do to pass the time, collect a check, and fill in the gaps between what they really want to be doing.
It’s a necessity.
But why is that?
It seems to me that a lot of the hatred of work is more a habit. In other words, we’ve told ourselves we hate it for so long…that we actually do.
Here’s the truth: All work can be tedious and monotonous and boring at times. But there’s a few tricks to make your job more enjoyable.
How to Change Your Mindset and Enjoy Going to Work Everyday
1) Think about the big picture
I was walking through the hospital the other day and the janitor was cleaning the floor.
Now this act of cleaning the floor is one of the most important jobs there is in the hospital. If the hospital isn’t clean, people won’t get better, they’ll get sicker.
He might have doubts. He’s not a nurse or a doctor. He doesn’t have direct patient contact. But that doesn’t change the fact that his job saves lives.
You might just be another cog in the wheel. But if that wheel is turning the world, then your cog is important.
When you start to see the big picture, you’ll understand just how connected we all are.
2) Embrace the uniqueness
Every job is a little different. And every person does things in their own unique way.
Think about the little ways you do things a bit different. Are you quirky? Do you have a new way of organizing things? Are you the computer expert even though your main job has nothing to do with computers?
Be grateful you are the way you are.
Embrace your unique qualities, because those are the things that aren’t easily replaced.
3) Be a craftsman
Have you ever complained……”They just don’t make things the way they used to!”
I know I have. And I wish I wasn’t old enough to know just how they used to make things 🙂
But the truth is, people used to take pride in what they were doing, building, creating. They wouldn’t want to make something that would just break or fall apart a few months later. There was a healthy sense of pride and accomplishment.
Be a craftsman in the work you do.
Take pride in a job well done.
I have a friend that builds furniture. He’s so good at it, he was offered a job figuring out how to build unique pieces of furniture from just a picture.
He loves the challenge. But most of all, he takes pride in doing things right.
You don’t have to build things to be a craftsman.
Whatever your job, you can become the one person that people come to when they want it done right. And this will eventually pay you back exponentially.
4) Don’t Be a Drug Addict
Addicts live for the rush.
Ignore the need to have a continuous dopamine rush.
Not every second of your day has to be “liked” or “shared” or “retweeted”.
When you practice mindfulness, you escape the trap of boredom. You no longer have to look at your phone every 5 minutes. You’re not constantly looking for the next moment, thinking you’ll be happy then.
The mundane tasks at your work can take on a new meaning, if you let them.
They don’t have to be, you know…..the boring details in between meals.
Instead they become a chance to be content and patient. A chance to grow as a person.
I’ll just go ahead and say this…..
I suck at mindfulness. My mind wanders and I get bored. (It’s probably my Attention Deficit Disorder.)
But I’m trying.
And sometimes that’s all you can do.
5) Change
Maybe you don’t like going to work because your job is dumb.
If that’s the case….
find a new job.
No one is holding you back. Only your mind. It’s your preconceived notions of who you are and what you can do.
Release yourself of the burden of having to be…
And just be.
Now quit reading this and get back to work. (I’m talking to you Shanda)
p.s.
Don’t worry, I’m not quitting my day job. But I did write this book. If you haven’t read it yet, now’s your chance.
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