Make Work Your Favorite

 How can I find more joy and fulfillment at work?

How can I be sure my job is best suited to my abilities and speaks to my passion?

Does this work stir my soul?

Can I really make an impact in the world slaving away in a cubicle?

While some might attribute these questions to the millennial set, in truth, these questions have been plaguing knowledge workers for generations. But there is a simple answer in finding fulfillment at work and making an impact, regardless of what you do or where you work. Unfortunately, most people don’t want to hear it. Here is the magic bullet: To find happiness and fulfillment at work, you must commit yourself to giving your very best every day at work.

It’s pretty simple, right? Well not so fast. This takes work. Hard work. I don’t mean the daily tasks required of you to successfully do your job. I mean the work it takes to learn more, stretch your limits, and overcome your barriers to continually give 110% to everything you are doing.

You cannot be looking to your left or your right and thinking about someone else’s achievements relative to yours. You might attribute it to them having more passion or being better suited to success. Undoubtedly, if you pull back the curtain on their success you will find that they are committed to giving more than is expected and stretching past their comfort zone to learn more and hone their skills. In other words they are working hard. As they become more adept at their work they develop greater satisfaction. Here is the important part though; the satisfaction comes from a job well done, not a gift from the job itself.

This is where I think so many of us hit a wall. We have the expectation that if we are in the right job with the right co-workers we will be happy and fulfilled. Seeking the fulfillment from outside ourselves. Yikes! So trite. Am I really saying that it has everything to do with your attitude and nothing to do with your environment? There are some who are working in truly toxic environments, the circumstances which, are outside of the scope of this article. For the rest of us, who are toiling under the burdensome thought that there is a better and more perfect job for us out there somewhere but we can’t seem to find it, I propose the following challenge. Spend the next 30 days fully engaging yourself in your business. Find ways to give more, learn more and stretch more. And really commit to it. Then see how this changes your view of work fulfillment.

A former boss of mine would often say “this is your chosen profession; why not give 100% of your commitment?” The underlying message is that we are free to choose differently if we are not going to give it our all. I happen to like the way the Gimbels' manager in Elf puts it: MAKE WORK YOUR NEW FAVORITE.