Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Jeff Goins of Goins Writer.
In our world today, we are overwhelmed with promises to quit our jobs and chase our dreams. We are told that we deserve to be happy and that if we buy enough things that it will eventually happen. We are told to work for the weekend and plan that next vacation. But why can’t we be happy with the life we have right now?
We live in a culture that prizes leisure over labor and longs for a “four-hour work week.” Sadly, like many things in our culture, this promise is an illusion. The truth is you don’t have to hate your job. Work can become a source of fulfillment for you if you choose to see it that way.
For my recent book The Art of Work, I interviewed hundreds of people who had discovered their purpose in life. And as I spoke with these people who had found their callings I learned several lessons. Here are three of them.
1. Hating your job won’t make you any happier.
We don’t have to hate the work we do even if that work isn’t ideally suited to us. Everyone I met who found their calling in life ended up doing something that surprised them. Which means that connecting to your purpose is more about perspective than circumstance.
During World War II, Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl discovered an important lesson about human happiness: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Frankl learned this from living for years in a Nazi concentration camp. Everything was taken from him. His family. His work. His well-being. And yet he realized there was one freedom he could never lose: his.
If you choose to change your perspective, how things look will begin to change. You don’t need to win the lottery to find contentment. In fact, sometimes the very things we think will liberate us will actually only further prison us.
The easiest way to do work you love is to start loving what you do. This is a choice we all have. So let’s stop making work the enemy.
2. Do better work and the work will become more enjoyable.
One way to enjoy your work is to become better at it. It should be no surprise that we find greater fulfillment in activities that we are skilled at doing. But how much this is true is startling.
Laura Carstensen is a psychologist and the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity where they study what makes people live longer and happier lives. What they found was that people who continue to learn enjoy their work more and actually live longer.
Education, according to this study, is the single greatest predictor of lifespan. So you want to live longer? Be happier? Learn a new skill or get better at the one you have. And why not start with the place where you probably already spend eight hours a day?
Once we reach a basic level or proficiency, work that was once tedious may now be enjoyable. As Daniel Pink writes in his book Drive, mastering any skill makes the activity intrinsically more motivating. So if you are struggling to want to go to work in the first place, try doing better work.
3. Realize your whole life is a form of work.
Whether or not you have a day job, you go to work every day. You watch the kids or clean up the house. You mow the lawn or go grocery shopping. Every day, you are working, whether it’s at an office or at home. Whether you are retired or just beginning your career.
We all have important work to do. And that work is our life. Your magnum opus is not just one great thing you did. It is more like a body of work that you are constantly contributing to every day.
In that respect, we all get to decide what kind of job we have and how much we enjoy it. Of course, there are some things that are within our control, like our perspective, and some things that are not, like our circumstances. Your job is to learn to let go of what you can’t control and embrace what you can.
One important lesson about being happier with your life and work is learning to make trade-offs. It’s the dream of many people to want more of everything. More money. More stuff. More time. But you can’t have all three of those all at once.
So decide what’s most important to you. You can do almost anything you want in life but not everything. If you’re not doing what you want, you can quit. But that choice has consequences. You can stay where you are and there is a cost to that as well. One choice isn’t necessarily better than the other, so long as you realize you can’t have it all right now.
There is, however, something beautiful about not getting everything you thought you wanted. Constraints create contentment. Because in those constraints you realize what’s really important.
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Jeff Goins is the author of four books including the national best seller, The Art of Work. You can find him on Twitter or follow his award-winning writing blog.
Elena says
This reminds me of a blog post I did about Finding My Niche. I was too focused about where I ‘should’ be at this point in my life instead of realizing how much purpose, responsibility and stability I had where I ‘already was’. I learned not to use where others were as a benchmark of my success or failure. I’m now perfectly content with still working a full time job and running my own business part time, not one bit bitter or resentful that I had not been able to give up my job in order to be my own boss. With my job, I have a steady paycheck, paid medical, paid vacation, paid sick time, bonuses and a boss who is awesome. It would be a gamble giving all that up to venture out on my own. It just was not financially wise.
I instead exchanged the ‘where I should be by now’ mindset into building my purpose for ‘where I currently am’. I’m very much content and at peace with it. It’s my niche. My purpose. What I’m meant to do, which is both. Once I changed my mindset, the bitterness and resentfulness went away, and so did the stress
Now off to get your book for my plane ride next month!
Jeff Goins says
Oh, fun! Thanks! What’s the link to that post?
shaloo walia says
Thought-provoking post! Hating our job is only going to make us more miserable. Either change the situation or accept it.
Jeff Goins says
Yep. That’s what I’m saying. :)
Rachel says
Great read! I am fortunate to have found a place where I love my job and am passionate about the services we provide… I have 4 co-workers who share my belief. I have 2 that make going to work challenging…I try to keep things in perspective. I can’t change them, but I can change how I deal with them. Any advice on how to deal with the chronic complainers and joy-suckers at an otherwise great job?
Judy says
Rachel, I’ve worked for the past 13 years with a joy-sucker. They never change ( you already know that ) . What I’ve learned to do is minimize the time I spend with her…if that is possible.
Jeff Goins says
That’s a wise strategy, Judy.
gajanan maydev says
good article!!!!!!
Kalie @ Pretend to Be Poor says
Really powerful post! I agree that the four-hour work week and dream job that so many are chasing is mostly mythical. I especially love your last point–that if we strive for contentment in all we do and view all we do as valuable, then we can find joy and significance in life, whatever our day job might be. I know it has helped me during stressful times at work to look at the bigger picture of my life and all the good that was going on.
Jeff says
Well even if they aren’t mythical. They won’t make you happy. Only you can do that.
John says
My wife and I have a terrific quote framed in our bedroom: “Having it all doesn’t necessarily mean having it all at once.” Discovering what you enjoy doing, and improving over time, trumps superficial pleasures.
Jeff says
Love that John.
Tyson Popplestone says
Great post Jeff!
What an incredible quote from Victor Frankl.
Jeff says
He’s the best.
Krista says
I appreciate your thoughts. I posted about mindset this morning on my blog as discovering that my attitude and core beliefs were one of the most significant determinants of my happiness and life satisfaction. I am aiming for a four day work week for my business even though I love it because I also love time to rest and connect with my family and prepare real food and maintain an orderly, peaceful home:)
Jeff says
Well, four days is different from four hours. Good for you! :)
Jeff says
What was the link to that post?
krista O'Reilly-Davi-Digui says
http://www.alifeinprogress.ca/?p=1946
Mary Dykstra Novess says
When I was young, I thought I was constrained by my circumstances. I learned over time however, I was constrained by my choices but attributed them to my circumstances. I choose to live consciously and work to inspire my clients to do the same. Mary @OrganizedYou
Jeff says
Beautiful. Well said, Mary! I love that. Thank you for sharing.
Rachel says
Love!
Jeff says
Love right back at ya!
Thias @It Pays Dividends says
These are great points Jeff! If there is no part of your job that you enjoy, you either need to figure out how to transform it into something positive or look for something new. Too many people waste their time doing something they hate, instead of trying to create a life worthy of their time.
Jeff Goins says
Exactly! Well said.
Catherine Barnes says
i personally have always felt. that is one dose not have a passion for the wk or job you hold. it’s not worth it to stay there, find a job you love,,,, better for you health and your life,… happy days