It's an awesome Monday, I'm feeling good, and I'll say it: I AM ABSOLUTELY F***ING IN LOVE WITH MY JOB.
I've always been a strong believer in this, and I've said it many times before: In order to be truly happy at what you do, you have to LOVE WHAT YOU DO, and you'll never ever have to drag yourself to work. Every weekday will feel like a vacation day.
That's why, I've always made sure I was passionate in what I did. That's why I loved my job when I was working as a Recruitment Consultant with BGC. I loved my job when I was a Recruitment Coordinator with Apple. Of course, there were times when I felt grumpy when I woke up in the morning, and times when I wished I could just take a sick day off, but I told myself that no matter how much you love your job, there's always bound to be days like these, right?
But you know what? I guess I never knew what true love is, because this is the first time in my life that I have this special feeling that I've never ever felt with any other employer before: I honestly, genuinely, wholeheartedly ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY JOB.
I can now confidently say that I am now feeling a kind of satisfaction and happiness with my job that I have never ever felt before. I literally feel that bounce in my steps when I go to work in the morning and I actually feel excited, not dreadful, when I think about the work I am going to face in the office.
While I used to groan about working over the weekends, I now actively and routinely check my work emails during the weekends, waiting for new emails to come in (I know this sounds like I'm bordering on being a workaholic, but rest assured I am not). The best indication that I now absolutely enjoy my job is that I actually LOOK FORWARD TO MONDAYS because that's when I get to continue doing what I love to do.
I now no longer understand the feeling of Monday Blues; it is a feeling far too foreign to me. (Except for the times when I forget it's a Sunday night and I accidentally game till 3am and then drag myself awake at 7am the next morning. Which happens way too frequently than it should but still... I enjoy Mondays. Kinda. After I get over my grogginess.)
I realise that not many people are as lucky as I am to be able to love a job this much, and I thank God for giving me this opportunity to be happy as I continue to grow and contribute at work.
The importance of loving your job is now even more paramount that I ever thought it was. If you do not love your job, I strongly advice you to work on it. Depending on your situation, you can:
1. Change your attitude towards your job.
More often than not, it is not the employer that's the problem, but the employee. If you're lazy, incompetent and disinterested, you will never be happy no matter what you do.
2. Don't work because your boss tells you to. Work because you WANT to.
Not because your boss isn't dumb and he/she will be able to tell (but for the record: yes, they WILL be able to tell). But rather, because you'll be happier doing it, and more often than not, you'll find yourself going the extra mile to get shit done. You'll be happy, your boss will trust you more, and you'll be happy that your boss trusts you, you'll be encouraged to work harder and better, your boss gets happier and trusts you even more, you're trusted to handle more hardcore stuff (or get more responsibilities, a raise, or a promotion, whatever), yadda yadda, and the circle of happiness will go on and on until you achieve work nirvana (LOL ok the last part was JK).
3. Think hard about what you love, where your interest lies, and what you're really good at.
If your current job isn't what you love, try talking to your manager to see if you can be assigned to tasks that are more aligned to your interests, or if there is any opportunity for you to move laterally to another role.
On the other hand, sometimes, our personal interests doesn't align with our professional strengths. If you find great satisfaction at work doing something you know you're really good at (even though you have no particular personal interest in it), and you're happy doing it, you're good to go.
4. Consider your work environment.
If your work environment is a toxic one, get out of there ASAP. A happy place to work is a place where there is mutual trust, no micro-management, and a healthy culture.
If you haven't found your work-love, I hope you'll find it one day. For me, this isn't work-life balance anymore, this is work-life integration. And that, I think, is what real happiness at work is.
P.S.: The reason why I love my job is a different story altogether which I won't really be mentioning here, as it will involve talking about the company, the job, etc. Not sure if I'd be breaching privacy policy there, so I'll rather err on the side of caution. But generally speaking, I guess it all boils down to the company's awesome culture and core values. =)
I've always been a strong believer in this, and I've said it many times before: In order to be truly happy at what you do, you have to LOVE WHAT YOU DO, and you'll never ever have to drag yourself to work. Every weekday will feel like a vacation day.
That's why, I've always made sure I was passionate in what I did. That's why I loved my job when I was working as a Recruitment Consultant with BGC. I loved my job when I was a Recruitment Coordinator with Apple. Of course, there were times when I felt grumpy when I woke up in the morning, and times when I wished I could just take a sick day off, but I told myself that no matter how much you love your job, there's always bound to be days like these, right?
But you know what? I guess I never knew what true love is, because this is the first time in my life that I have this special feeling that I've never ever felt with any other employer before: I honestly, genuinely, wholeheartedly ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY JOB.
I can now confidently say that I am now feeling a kind of satisfaction and happiness with my job that I have never ever felt before. I literally feel that bounce in my steps when I go to work in the morning and I actually feel excited, not dreadful, when I think about the work I am going to face in the office.
While I used to groan about working over the weekends, I now actively and routinely check my work emails during the weekends, waiting for new emails to come in (I know this sounds like I'm bordering on being a workaholic, but rest assured I am not). The best indication that I now absolutely enjoy my job is that I actually LOOK FORWARD TO MONDAYS because that's when I get to continue doing what I love to do.
I now no longer understand the feeling of Monday Blues; it is a feeling far too foreign to me. (Except for the times when I forget it's a Sunday night and I accidentally game till 3am and then drag myself awake at 7am the next morning. Which happens way too frequently than it should but still... I enjoy Mondays. Kinda. After I get over my grogginess.)
I realise that not many people are as lucky as I am to be able to love a job this much, and I thank God for giving me this opportunity to be happy as I continue to grow and contribute at work.
The importance of loving your job is now even more paramount that I ever thought it was. If you do not love your job, I strongly advice you to work on it. Depending on your situation, you can:
1. Change your attitude towards your job.
More often than not, it is not the employer that's the problem, but the employee. If you're lazy, incompetent and disinterested, you will never be happy no matter what you do.
2. Don't work because your boss tells you to. Work because you WANT to.
Not because your boss isn't dumb and he/she will be able to tell (but for the record: yes, they WILL be able to tell). But rather, because you'll be happier doing it, and more often than not, you'll find yourself going the extra mile to get shit done. You'll be happy, your boss will trust you more, and you'll be happy that your boss trusts you, you'll be encouraged to work harder and better, your boss gets happier and trusts you even more, you're trusted to handle more hardcore stuff (or get more responsibilities, a raise, or a promotion, whatever), yadda yadda, and the circle of happiness will go on and on until you achieve work nirvana (LOL ok the last part was JK).
3. Think hard about what you love, where your interest lies, and what you're really good at.
If your current job isn't what you love, try talking to your manager to see if you can be assigned to tasks that are more aligned to your interests, or if there is any opportunity for you to move laterally to another role.
On the other hand, sometimes, our personal interests doesn't align with our professional strengths. If you find great satisfaction at work doing something you know you're really good at (even though you have no particular personal interest in it), and you're happy doing it, you're good to go.
4. Consider your work environment.
If your work environment is a toxic one, get out of there ASAP. A happy place to work is a place where there is mutual trust, no micro-management, and a healthy culture.
If you haven't found your work-love, I hope you'll find it one day. For me, this isn't work-life balance anymore, this is work-life integration. And that, I think, is what real happiness at work is.
P.S.: The reason why I love my job is a different story altogether which I won't really be mentioning here, as it will involve talking about the company, the job, etc. Not sure if I'd be breaching privacy policy there, so I'll rather err on the side of caution. But generally speaking, I guess it all boils down to the company's awesome culture and core values. =)
