Why you should do a job you love

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I thought that on today of all days it would be a perfect opportunity to talk about why it is important to love what we do every day.

Work may be seen as a typical 9-5 necessity, but it is, in fact, a big part of our lives, with 1/3 of your life is spent at work, that’s 90,000 hours over the course of a lifetime! With that in mind, can you really afford to spend all of that time in a career you simply don’t enjoy?

A question I get asked regularly is “why do I enjoy my career so much?” and the answer is now very simple (the journey here was anything but!) and I love it because it is a career that I really wanted, and when you work hard for something, the rewards are far greater than if it was simply offered to you. It also helps that my work is incredibly varied, I never know what I’m going to walk into each day so I don’t really have a routine.

I am fortunate to work within a close team of people and in a role that really challenges me, one of the many reasons people dislike their work is because it is not meaningful or they feel it doesn’t make a difference, in other words, it is just a job. When I speak with a client, I know that the advice and guidance that we give really supports them in areas that can be intimidating for them, so to act as that coach and provide that support in challenging circumstances can in itself be rewarding.

Too often, I hear that most people don’t enjoy their careers, some of my friends have studied for years to do their jobs, only to find that they really don’t enjoy them. Many say that they like their jobs, some even say that they tolerate their work! So it could be suggested that only a minority of people can effectively combine their passion with a career that also supports their desired lifestyle. With this in mind, it doesn’t mean that the majority of people are left in frustration or desperately seeking that perfect job, for some people it is the ideal.  To a degree, I believe you can and should find enjoyment in your work; by establishing your purpose and doing meaningful work, this can be incredibly beneficial to your life and overall wellbeing, you don’t have to love your job to be able to enjoy everyday aspects of it.

Whilst many people may say that they don’t enjoy their work, they may even already know that they want to pursue a different career, but despite knowing this, they choose to stay in their existing jobs for a long time nonetheless, which significantly impacts upon their motivation and drive to go for that desired career. More often than not, the main reason that they choose not to leave is because they haven’t identified what exactly it is that they want to do. The problem with this is whilst the initial idea of “jumping ship” is scary, it restricts them from not only discovering their ideal career, but it also hinders them from developing themselves. Remember that your dream career will not come to you, it is through hard work, commitment, consistency and developing that resilience, that the magic starts to happen. It is the challenges that we face that can really shape our careers, even if we don’t realise it at the time.

If you are reading this and thinking about your dream career as your current role is simply not working for you, then you need to find a career that allows you to do something that you can find enjoyment in. I made that scary decision thirteen years ago and I’ve never looked back, after all, life is too short not to do something you love.