How To Fall in Love with Your Job

Falling in love with your work can be as simple as recognizing who your real employer is. Let me give you a hint: It’s not where you work, it’s who you work for—namely YOURSELF!

Even if you’re not a business owner, you are still self-employed! Who filled out and submitted your application? Who did the preliminary research? Who went to the interview? Who called back and accepted?

Sometimes it’s easy to forget who is responsible here.
But when you do remember that you CHOSE your job, you CHOSE your work, it can help you get back in touch with what attracted you about it.

Take just a second and jot down three things that made you feel you were a good fit for this job or business. How did your skills and experience match the description? What excited you about the work and why?

Finding the right work is a lot like finding the right mate—There is no guaranteed formula for success and there are lots of options out there. And your relationship with your work evolves as you evolve; no relationship is static.

So, do you need to fall in love with your job? My hunch is you do. We all do.

I was finding myself dreading certain tasks like returning calls and following up on speaking leads. It seemed like much of my time was being consumed by these mundane tasks.

What did I do? I thought up a swell idea for an e-book that thrills me every time that I think about it! And I started writing, even if for only fifteen minutes a day!

I also started a mastermind group of powerful women speakers, trainers, and coaches, something I had dreamt of doing for several years. I can tell you, inviting people I didn’t know well or even at all was a daunting task, but I realized I could really have fun connecting with other women of power.

It was even fun connecting with the ones who turned down the group. We set lunch dates to get to know each other better, and I’ve invited them to come speak to our mastermind group about their careers.

How do we fall in love with our work? We GET to work! What dream are you putting off? What skill are you procrastinating about learning? What new ideas or experiences can you infuse into your work?

Choose just ONE simple action step you’ll take today to fall in love again with your work. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Google a work-related topic you’ve always wanted to know more about and find a conference on the topic. Register to attend and then follow through!
2. Call some of your favorite customers and clients and ask them what they most like about your work, product, or service. Write down what they say and tape it on your office wall so you can look at it when you feel your energy or enthusiasm waning.
3. Start a mastermind group with other successful professionals in your industry or across industries. Meet at least once or twice a month to share your successes and challenges and to brainstorm ideas and solutions. For a great guide to starting a mastermind group, read Meet and Grow Rich by Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler.
4. Write down all the things about your work that you love doing. Then brainstorm ways you can incorporate more of these activities into your daily routine.
5. Write down what you most dislike doing in your work. Now brainstorm ways to minimize the time you spend on that activity. Who can you train well so they can take over that responsibility? Figure that out and start training them!
6. Finally, think about the alternatives. What are your options and why do you CHOOSE to continue in your current line of work? What are the pay offs for the work you do? Why didn’t you take other jobs or start other types of businesses in the first place?

Falling in love with your work isn’t hard. In fact it’s as easy as imagining today is the first day of your new job or the grand opening of your business.

Make each day that first day and you will find yourself with such passion for your work that what you do will truly be remarkable!