Do you enjoy your job?
Let’s talk about how to become passionate about your job. Last year, surveys showed that 65% of employees in the US are satisfied with their jobs but only 20% are passionate about their job.
Passion makes a difference because there is no perfect job. Passion helps you persist on the bad days and resiliently come back from disappointments.
You might not work in the US but here’s an interesting fact: enjoying your job helps you live longer. And being passionate keeps you enjoying your job longer.
So here are 5 ways to become passionate about your job.
Connect With People to help Solve Problems
Research shows that taking an interest in people and helping to solve their work related problems makes you happier.
You can make a habit of getting involved when a client requests a service and genuinely suggesting ways to help resolve it.
Start a Personal Project
Think about what it is you are passionate about and see if this can be built into your work duties. You can explore ways to mainstream your project into your work routines and record this as an experience.
Seeing the experience benefit of your work routines can help you develop a passion for what you do.
Use Free Time to Upskill
Sometimes a boring job is an opportunity to upskill. In many cases, because most functions are repetitive they become automatic.
In other cases, you may find that you have some free time on your hands. Spend that time to research and prepare an alternative source of income, a new career path or a learning opportunity to acquire a skill.
Practice Gratitude
Appreciate the pros of having your job and try not to limit your satisfaction to financial considerations.
Recall why you accepted the job in the first place and think about how to make it more fun and enjoyable for yourself.
This reminds me of a traffic warden I met in sun baked Abuja, Nigeria. His job was essentially to organise and direct traffic at a busy 4-way intersection in the city centre.
Nigerian drivers can be stubborn and completely ignore traffic rules. But this warden got every driver spellbound following his yellow gloved hands as he danced and strategically swung his arms, waist and legs towards directions through the intersection, just showing which way to go. His eyes, cheeks and lips were his strongest nonverbal cues.
For him, being able to incorporate fitness, dance and eye contact into his repetitive routine made the job more enjoyable and took his mind off the negatives of it.
Plan, it’s Just a Phase
See every job as a phase in your career and plan your exit or progression.
Don’t just quit. Be sure to take away some positive skills and lessons from your current job and see how you can apply it to a future role.
Striving to be one of the 20% who are passionate about their job is a matter of longevity.
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