| By Ally Mueller |
While many people think that having a lucrative job in a well-established field is the most important aspect of a career, many experts disagree. Many experts and even non-experts assert that contentment with employment drastically improves the quality of one’s life, even if the job may not be the highest paying one in the field. Remember—most of you will be working for the vast majority of your life, so it’s crucial to enjoy your work, too!
I recently read this article from Forbes in which Ron Culberson, an expert on both happiness and careers, was interviewed to provide some general guidance on how to enjoy work. His overall message can be described through one simple phrase: “Do it well, make it fun.” While this phrase is catchy, and the message is attractive, this is easier said than done. In response to this phrase, some of you may pose the following questions: What if I can’t find a job that excites me? How can I do something well? How can I implement these tips into my current job? Here are some answers to those questions!
Question: What if I can’t find a job that excites me?
Answer: As college students, or recent graduates, it’s quite likely that you have not landed your dream job. While that “perfect” job probably exists out there for each one of us, this job can sometimes be very difficult to find. To make a job exciting, Ron Culberson provides two solutions: 1) Spend your time looking for that perfect dream job, even if it requires taking risks and extreme patience. Or, 2) Work to make a job you don’t love more enjoyable by improving your attitude and working to change parts of your job that irritate you most. In most cases, maintaining a positive attitude and never settling will make a job more exciting.
Question: How can I do something well?
Answer: As humans, we tend to overestimate our natural abilities and underestimate our ability to learn. One of my personal favorite quotes is “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” Thus, if you are willing to work hard and put the effort into to continue to improve, you will likely be able to perform a job well. While natural ability obviously helps to master a job or task, hard work can often more than make up for a lack of natural ability. Plus, many employers will notice hard work and initiative over natural ability, which is a bonus!
Question: How can I implement these tips into my current job?
Answer: Making your job more exciting and/or fun is a seemingly impossible task, but it can actually be quite easy to improve your work environment. Maintaining a strong work ethic and positive attitude, as well as motivating your coworkers and pursuing your interests are some first steps to take to improve your workplace. Asking your boss for projects that interest you, complimenting your coworkers, and simply smiling can make you an overall happier, more productive, and more energetic employee.
Although many of you may not be working at the moment, try to remember some of these tips next time you’re employed. Always remember that “work” and “fun” can in fact be in the same sentence!