In order to enjoy work more, you don’t have to accept that work is hard, boring, or stressful and then find a way to deal with it. That doesn’t help you enjoy work at all! It’s really all about changing your perception of work and finding meaning in your work. When you can find the meaning behind your job and the things you face each day, you will enjoy work more no matter what. Start affirming the following things to yourself and you will find work is more fun, pleasing, and satisfying.
1. My Work Helps Other People
There is something satisfying about helping other people. And, whatever you do, you help other people in some way. Unless you are a scrooge who rips people off and scams people on a daily basis. But, I doubt that’s you.
Work is about making money, but it’s really about contributing. That’s what it boils down to. Jobs are created because there is a demand to improve something, help people, create things for people, or influence people. Whatever you are doing is having some sort of impact on others.
When I was a young housekeeper in a senior’s home, I hated my job. But, once I realized that cleaning was helping residents feel better about their home, I realized I was contributing to their lives in a positive way, and that helped me enjoy work more than I had ever enjoyed it as a housekeeper.
List out how your work is helping other people and try to see the value in what you are doing because of that.
2. I Learn A Lot About Myself From Other People
Let’s face it – co-workers can suck and make you dread work. There are all kinds of difficult co-workers that want to bring you down, drain your energy, make you feel upset, and step on your toes.
Even if you work from home or have your own business, you still need to deal with people here and there, and they aren’t all great! That’s why it’s important to develop an affirmation that helps you see your co-workers differently in order to enjoy work more.
‘I learn a lot about myself from other people’ helps you remember that other people have a lot to teach you because they come from a different headspace, upbringing, lifestyle, and attitude that you haven’t experienced yet.
For instance, that jerk who is always rude to you can teach you a lot about your outlook on life and how a negative one can impact your happiness in a big way. Listen to how they talk and you will learn how they think and live their lives and how that affects their social skills and happiness in life.
Or, that lazy person can help you understand how unsatisfying it is to be lazy and give you the motivation to get up and be productive!
Focus on personal growth through what you see and learn. You will be amazed at what you can learn from other people if you stop taking things personally and start focusing on bettering yourself and becoming the person you want to be.
You will be able to handle your co-workers better. And they will teach you a lot about who you are, what you want out of life, who you want to be, how you want to be viewed, how you want to be treated, and how you ultimately want to live your life.
3. I Enjoy Challenging Myself At Work
Many people don’t enjoy work because it doesn’t feel productive in any way. It lacks challenges. It’s boring and doesn’t help them grow.
If this sounds like you, then you need to start finding ways to challenge yourself and feel more productive and accomplished at the end of the day. And the more you affirm to yourself that you enjoy challenging yourself at work, the more you will find ways to challenge yourself!
The best way to challenge yourself is to create actual challenges. You can create daily, weekly, or monthly challenges.
- See if you can do things better, faster, or more efficiently.
- Challenge co-workers to see who can do something better, faster, or more efficiently.
- Challenge yourself to interact more with your co-workers or, if they are a distraction, interact less with your co-workers.
- Work on solving a problem that has been bugging you or holding you back.
- Try to find ways to incorporate your work and personal growth together.
- Challenge yourself to make your co-workers feel good about themselves and enjoy work more.
- Find ways to laugh at things that would normally upset you.
- Figure out how to overcome procrastination if you don’t feel like you are putting in an honest day’s work in!
The limit is your imagination.
Just don’t be mean, lazy, or spiteful as you challenge yourself. For instance, don’t challenge yourself to annoy your co-workers or trick your boss. That’s not going to help you enjoy work more. It’s going to keep you in a state where negative emotions such as anger or jealousy live, and you won’t feel good about what you are doing in the long-run.
4. I Appreciate That I Have A Job
Being grateful is the ultimate way to change your mind about something and enjoy it more – even work.
If your current job is not your dream job, you can at least appreciate the fact that you are working and bringing in money. There are people out there who are unable to find a job. And there are people who can’t work because of disabilities, discrimination, or other circumstances, but would love to go into work and earn an honest paycheck.
So, take some time to appreciate that you have a job. In addition, find things about your job to appreciate. That will help you enjoy work even more.
For instance:
- Work is close to me.
- I’m great at what I do.
- I make more than some people.
- I contribute to the bills.
- I’m able to keep a roof over my head because of my job.
- I can feed myself with my paycheck.
- I am helping other people (see first affirmation!)
5. I Am Happy I Get A Paycheck
Another reason people don’t enjoy work is that they don’t make enough money. That’s a good reason to either get an education or work on developing skills that will help you find a more suitable job that allows you to earn more. HOWEVER, until then you need to be grateful for the paycheck you are getting.
A secret that I learned from Jon Butcher is that you will never be happy enough with what you make. He says that even the richest people want to earn more money. So if you are never grateful for how much you are earning, you will never be happy about what you earn – even if it’s a million dollars a day. You will always be longing for more money and dissatisfied with what you make.
Sure, it’s going to be easier to be happy about your paycheck when you are earning more, but you might as well start practicing that grateful feeling right now. This doesn’t mean you are not going to strive to earn more. It’s just a tool to help you feel good about yourself now and enjoy work more at the moment as you strive for something more.
6. I Have A Lot To Offer In This Role
Reminding yourself that you are capable, unique, and have a lot to offer is a great way to enjoy work more. It can help boost your confidence and job satisfaction. And it can help you feel more valuable in the role you are in.
It may even help you keep a steady paycheck when things get rough in the workplace.
For instance, a friend of mine is an accountant, and he knows he has a lot to offer the company he works for. He can cut costs, help them maintain their budget, and help them save money. Focusing on these things helps him create challenges at work to prove his skills, benefits, and value. This actually helped him save his job. When they were making cuts, he thought he was going to get fired because the accountant is often the first to go, and he was right – they were talking about letting him go. But management came to the conclusion that he was too valuable to fire and they ended up letting go of other people instead.
So what do you bring to the table? How are you valuable at work? Focus on that and remember that you have a lot to offer in your role!
