Love Your Job - How To Wake Up Excited On Monday Morning

When you have free time, do you find yourself reading up on your industry? Do you brainstorm ideas on how to improve your company's product, service, or customer experience on the weekends? When you wake up Monday morning, are you excited to start your day?

For the vast majority of people the answer is no, because they work for someone else, and they don't love their job!

As a purely unscientific study based on my personal experience interacting with hundreds of people at dozens of companies, I would estimate that about five to ten percent of people at any given company truly love their job. Keep in mind, most people will never admit to you (or even themselves) that they aren't passionate about their work. They could be in denial about it, be completely unaware that something better exists, or have convinced themselves that where they are is perfect because admitting otherwise would mean they'd have to change! But if you get to know someone well enough, this embarrassing truth very often will come out.

Sometimes, I will just ask people over dinner or drinks, "Do you love your job?" If it's someone I feel that I know well, the answer is often an honest "no".

Of course, keep in mind that I didn't say ninety percent of people hate their job. I did say that ninety percent (or more) of people aren't passionate about their job.

You can test this theory for yourself next time you are at any type of social event. As you are standing there meeting new people and desperately trying to make small talk, two inevitable questions will come up: Where are you from? And what do you do?

Whenever I find myself in this situation, the second question in particular always intrigues me, and I tend to look closely at how someone answers it. As with all communication, the non verbal (voice tone, pitch, variety, speed, and most importantly body language) says so much more than the actual words coming out of their mouth.

Some people can't wait to bubble away about their exciting projects and are truly inspiring in their commitment and passion. But the majority of people, when asked this question, have their eyes dart to the ground for just an instant. They recite the line they have used so many times before with just a hint of shame, saying something like "I do sales at a large medical distribution company". As you listen (wondering to yourself, what the heck do I know about medical sales and what the heck will my next small talk question be), they watch your face to see what your reaction will be. Will you be impressed? After all, they did say "large" distribution company. Or will you see through their social mask and discount them as another boring person you met at the party.

Ask them how they like it and you may hear some words like "It's not too bad", "It'd be better if...", "But it has great benefits", and "Next year it might...". If you ask enough people this question, you will start to be able to spot them from across the room. Without even asking, I can usually spot the people in the room who love their work. They are having the most fun!

You too can discover a job you love. For most, it won't be a magical discovery that suddenly hits you. It's an ongoing process in life of noticing when you are having the most fun, and starting to incorporate those experiences into your work. Of course, this is much easier to do if you are self employed!

When you are ready to get started, there are a number of fine books on the subject, but if nothing else I hope I've convinced you that your work and play can in fact be one and the same. Stop thinking of your job as "what I have to do", and start thinking of it as "what I want to do". You just might wake up one Monday morning absolutely excited to go to work, and discover that somehow, against all odds, you love your job!

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