I saw a video on Facebook the other day – it was headlined as something like ‘the most important thing you’ll see all month’, and I respected the person who had shared it, so I gave it a quick view.
The message of the video was essentially this:
You are going to be at work for the vast majority of your life, so make sure you’re doing something you enjoy.
This message rings true with me, as I’m sure it does with you. I don’t like the idea that I’m going to spend 40 years doing something with no purpose other than to get money to pay for stuff I can barely squeeze into my spare time.
Even if you have a stand-out ‘successful’ career and earn millions, if that’s only then used to fund a house and a family you barely see, what point is there to that really?
It all comes down to this:
Your life will be better, and you will be happier, if you’re doing something you love, even if that means taking home less money at the end of the month.
I agree.
But I don’t agree with the practical advice this video gave, which was ‘make sure you’re doing something you enjoy.’
Huh?
What would happen if we spun that around, to say instead:
Make sure you enjoy what you’re doing.
If I’m doing something I don’t enjoy, that turns me into a victim. This job is happening to me, and I’m subject to my evil boss’s nasty commands.
But if I’m not enjoying what I’m doing, that puts me in a position of power. I can solve this problem, by changing my attitude.
Instead of answering the questions of what else I could be doing that would make me happier, I’m answering the question of what I genuinely enjoy about this job I’m in. That feels a lot more positive – doesn’t that feel better?
I see the Bible telling us to be content with what we have, and I don’t see the Bible telling us that satisfaction lies in grabbing at things we don’t have.
Homework for today then: Write a list of the 100 things you most enjoy about your job, then if you bring it along on a Sunday morning and share it with me, I’ll share mine with you.