Although it’s not always easy to change our jobs it’s always easy to change the way we think about them.
For instance, if you think of work as something you have to do, it will feel like an obligation, like something you don’t want to do.
Or if you think of it as “just a job,” then it will feel like just a job. It will be just a job. But it’s easy to change the way we think about our work.
What Ways?
Consider: Your work isn’t just a job. It’s how you earn your income, how you support your life and perhaps the lives of others. It is your livelihood.
Or: Your work isn’t just a job. It’s how you spend most of your days. It is how you spend your time.
Or: Your work isn’t just a job. It’s how you express yourself in the world. It is who you are to yourself and others.
Or: Your work isn’t just a job. That’s like saying your life is just a collection of hours.
No matter what job, you can think of it as you choose.
Look For What Is Good
I’ve seen this in my jobs from factory floors to Wall Street and read about it in books about happiness and Working. The happiest folks in their work are not those with the “best” jobs.
They are the folks that choose to look for what is “best” in their jobs and to be happy in their work. A common example being janitors seeing themselves alongside doctors and nurses as part of overall patient care.
They say more than 65% of people are dissatisfied in their jobs.
I’d suggest that dissatisfied is a pretty lousy option when you have two perfectly good options.
If we don’t like our jobs we can change them or change the way we think about them. Each goes hand in hand.
When we stop thinking about hating our jobs we have more time to think about what we like about them and/or how to change them.