This is the job I was born to do!

I hope this note would help someone think about their current job differently and allow them to enjoy more happiness and success.

“This is the job I was born to do”

Sounds crazy that we can have the above feeling for even the best job of our lives, leave alone just any job. Not all MY jobs have been outstanding or so challenging that they connected with the idea of a ‘dream job’. However, much like millions of others, I chose to give my best even for the one that ranked the lowest too, and in turn made the last two decades a bit more enjoyable.

What’s going on: There are millions of people who drag their feet through their jobs because it doesn’t inspire them or fulfill them creatively. They feel miserable about their circumstances, hate the fact they are in that job and what got them there. 

What it is doing to us: The dislike for the job is making lives miserable, stopping us from giving our best to the job, reducing our performance, creating poor relationships at work and home, choosing unhealthy habits, poor mental health, and the list goes on. 

The “situation” begs a question: Why are we so miserable if we chose to do that job, to begin with? It was our choice, right?

Some one would say- Well, it’s not that easy- we got to put food on the table and pay the bills. What options do some of us have?

Do I have to be miserable?: We have positive options. I took a slightly different approach when I found myself in that situation early in my career and used the undesirable job a platform for the desirable one. It allowed me to wake up every day and want to get to work. It allowed me to give my best and it allowed me to get to the job that I wanted. 

Here are some things I did differently and hope some are of help to others:

• What I HAVE to do, I MUST do well- if I have to do it, I better be happy doing it. If I have to do it, I better be good at doing it. If I have to do it, can it help me get to my desired job? If I have to do it, can I use it to prove myself to myself? 
• The idea of Excellence in the most undesirable of jobs: I want to look into my own eyes and be able to say- you are outstanding at what you do and you are getting better every day. It doesn’t matter what job it is. I want to be the damn best at it. It inspired me to see the job differently. Not for what I did not like in it but for the desire to be the best at it. It challenged me.
• Setting our high bar: I focused on proving myself to myself. It makes the pressure of proving yourself to the organization or your manager feel lighter. You are the ‘judge’ of yourself, with very high standards, higher than even your manager. It reduces stress as you strive. 
• Let’s also keep chasing our dream job: Wanting to be the best at your current job doesn’t mean that you stop aspiring for the ‘dream’ one. Compartmentalization- one for being great at what you do and another for steps to the next one. Keep the focus on your desired job alive- while being good at your current undesired job itself opens new doors, the focus on developing yourself for your desired job makes the journey even more enjoyable. 
• Focus on happiness: if our goal is to be happy, liking our job is a step in that direction as we spend most of our day doing it. It’s a choice- because not making the choice doesn’t make the bad/undesirable job vanish.

Its amazing how loving an undesirable job opens the doors to great ones. How it inspires you and gives you the energy to pursue the desired job. How we can spend hours planning and preparing for the desired job versus in hours of self-pity and despair. How it sharpens our skills and allows us to learn every day opening the doors to better opportunities.

And above all how it allows us to have a calm mind, decent sleep, better health and overall happier days.