Do you LOVE your job?

[Rosie]

I see people sitting behind their desks, typing away, entering numbers in to their computers. In their eyes, I can see the forced vigilance, the faked concentration, but most of all, I can see the boredom. It always makes me wonder, how people can devote their entire lives to something so meaningless.


If you asked a group of people if they honestly enjoyed their jobs, how many of them do you think would answer yes? The truth is, that a large percentage would give you a big - NO. It’s not an easy thing to admit, that you’ve wasted so much of your life doing something you don’t love.

Some of those people would tell you that they had no choice. They needed to support their family, put food on the table, and pay the mortgage. But they DID have a choice. They’ve just been conditioned to believe otherwise.

I wonder how many people on this forum enjoy their job. On a scale of 1 -10, how much do you enjoy your job? I think that most people on here are pretty conscious people, so I'm expecting it to be pretty high.

Any general thoughts/input would be awesome

Rosie

[Joely]

I personally do a job I don't think of as a job. I'm a writer, something I've always wanted to be. I work whenever I want to, which can mean doing 12-14 hour days because I've become so involved in what I'm doing I don't want to stop. I'm only just starting out and I'm still shaky about it - I still feel like I should be in a job doing "proper work" sometimes. When I had to "work" for a living in a conventional job, I did all kinds of things, and I made an effort to make it interesting for myself where I could.

I do come from a family, however, where that attitude of "do a job you hate" was part of the creed, on top of which is an assumption that dreams can't come true. It's been very tough for me to try to break that conditioning, but I'm getting there slowly.

A lot of my friends work for a living in a Mon-Fri 9-5 job and yes, they're bored. However, some of them really love what they do and I can tell when I meet up with them that although there are stresses, they really enjoy what they're doing because they work for a company with great values and their work feels meaningful.

J x

[bravebluemice]

To be perfectly honest, no, I have no love for my job.

If I were to relate the thougts and emotions I have on a daily basis about the drudgery of geting up and going to work, and performing the tasks given to me, it would amount to "The Chronicles of Suck."

For most of the people around me, I see a lot of false smiles, and a ton of complacency.

For a great deal of the population, they've accepted on a very deep level that they're going to be working at a job for most of their lives. They use the weekend as an escape, and the rest of the time they're basically dead. They don't love their job, but they don't hate it. They just see it as something they have to do, like bathing, or eating their vegetables.

For those of us who've taken the step to be here, at Steve's site, we know there's something more, that we can love what we do and provide for ourselves.

I'm at a job because I thought, like many, that it was just something I needed to do to get money to support a family, to... You know, live for the weekend.

But as I sit here, reading Steve's articles, building my web empire around the stories I always wanted to write, I'm seeing the face of work change.

If you ask me again in a year or two, when I've gone to writing full time, I'll be happy to send you a ten, but until then, whilst I lie here in the pit of everlasting slop that many would argue is a great career, I'll have to toss you a one.

[Jcs]

I do web development and customer-support 50/50 of the time. Especially the customer-support part is not something I would like to do forever. Being bugged with support issue's while it my 'dev'-time is quite annoying.

Now working on building a strong portfolio and then it's off . I'm still a US citizen so even if I wanted to work there it wouldn't be much of a problem. I see my current job as a stepping stone to being self-employed.

[ken nubo]

I don't have a job because the passive income is good right now

So I sit around and go talk to people. Then play some poker

[Ali from The Office Diet]

In all honesty, I don't really enjoy my job much. Probably a 4 out of 10 -- it's not an unpleasant job by any means, and the pay is good, but it's just something that has to be done to pay the rent.

However, now I have Tuesday off to do what I *really* love (blogging and creative writing), I'm realising just how far the job is from my favourite things and from my goals.

I'm looking for a job which would involve much more of what I like (writing and editing) and much less of the very routine and tedious elements of my current job (I work in "user support and testing"). I've learnt some very useful technical skills in my current role, but I find the company's software very boring, the people we work with rather boring (local government) and the job itself -- testing the same things over and over again, finding lost passwords over and over again, etc -- has lost any potential for growth. Plus the company's values ("profit") are out of sync with mine.

Fingers crossed for a new job and, eventually, for going freelance with writing & blogging. I've just landed a small paid role with Diet Blog which is a step in the right direction. :-)

Ali

[Ree]

I honestly LOVE my job! I don't necessarily like all the individuals I come into contact with, some of course are more difficult than others. But I have never been bored! Never dreaded going to a job! Never felt burnt out or had the slightest inclination to do something else! A big plus is that I am self-employed so I can work like crazy for six or eight weeks and then take a week (or two) off for family or travel or hobbies or whatever!

A huge part of why I love my job is because I'm really really good at what I do, so I never have any anxiety about my work. I'm hugely confident and always relaxed and sure of what I'm doing, even when something out of the ordinary pops up. I think the self confidence factor makes a lot of difference in what kind of satisfaction and enjoyment one gets out of one's work.

[Kylark]

Originally Posted by Ree

I honestly LOVE my job! I don't necessarily like all the individuals I come into contact with, some of course are more difficult than others. But I have never been bored! Never dreaded going to a job! Never felt burnt out or had the slightest inclination to do something else! A big plus is that I am self-employed so I can work like crazy for six or eight weeks and then take a week (or two) off for family or travel or hobbies or whatever!

A huge part of why I love my job is because I'm really really good at what I do, so I never have any anxiety about my work. I'm hugely confident and always relaxed and sure of what I'm doing, even when something out of the ordinary pops up. I think the self confidence factor makes a lot of difference in what kind of satisfaction and enjoyment one gets out of one's work.

I'm desperate to know - what do you do for a living?

[Jcs]

I'd say

occupation:
court reporter

[Ree]

Originally Posted by Jcs

I'd say

Court reporter would be correct!

[danas]

I slowly realised (over the span of 10 years) that there only thing I love doing, and I cant have a boss. so I risked it and quit all my side jobs and decided that I have no choice but to start selling it. so far its working, Im living from it.
I come from a family that you have to love your job. dads a musician, moms a scientist.

[Tim Brownson]

Absolutely! I'd do it for nothing if I didn't need the money. Helping people acheive their dreams and improve the quality of their lives and getting paid for it. It doesn't get much better than that!

[brendannz]

I'd say 5 out of 10.. Its definitely not something I'd do if I wasn't getting paid. But it keeps me from poverty and boredom, and I enjoy my hobbies more, when I haven't got to worry about having no cash etc.

I work on an internet store, I do some web graphics, mainly customer service on email and phones

[run_fly]

I can honestly say that I absolutely love my job...10/10

If someone offered me 1 million dollars I would follow the same career path.

This is what it feels to truly love your job:

You loose sense of time because your in the zone
You look forward to Monday mornings
You do a fantastic job at what you do and you don't even realize it because you are in a flow state
Your in a state of joy
Your completely in the present moment

I did a reading with Erin and my guides told me my purpose in life was to follow this career path.

I am very grateful for this and I know what it's like not enjoying work. I know it sucks!

I took chances following this career such as dropping out of University, paying a very high tuition, and job security was low at the time (not anymore luckily)

[jamestl2]

What's a job?

[Rockchick26]

I took an online test one time,to see if you loved your job. There were 3 results,1-it's a job,2-it's a career and 3-it's my passion Unfortunately according to my answers,i just had "a job" LOL But it isnt really THAT bad...on a scale of 1-10...it varies depending on what day you ask me. I work in a factory and i'm a pee-on there and i go wherever they need me,i don't have a set position. Some positions are easier than others. Some people i work with are better to work with than others. So i'd say it varies between a 1 and a 10,actually. Some days i do love it and some days i loathe it. But the reason why i don't quit is because i've been there for 17 years,i have 5 weeks of vacation every year,i get every holiday off,i have 401k,health insurance,dental insurance,it's 5 minutes from where i live (and for 3 years i lived close enough to be able to walk to work),and i am making $14 an hour,some days $15. For no skills and no college degrees,it's the best you can get. Both my parents work there too. In fact my dad got me the job there,he basically set up my interview for me since he is a big shot there. So i was kinda handed this job,and it's been the entire reason i've been able to afford new vehicles anytime i wanted one,trips every year,and a place of my own. Every time i think maybe i should go to school for what i REALLY want to do,i realize i still have to keep this job because what i really want to do doesn't pay **** unless you're famous (music). So,i'll take the money...at least until i win the lottery

[astra]

I'm actually between jobs at the moment (ie i finished my last one on Friday and am starting a new one on Monday) so it's a bit mixed up. My last job was an 8/10 for the job itself, and a 2/10 for the people I worked with (hence me leaving). My new job is a bit up the ladder, so hopefully will be better.

I'm in HR, and I absolutely love all the different things I get to do - mostly because I see it as a supporting role, making the organisation a better place to work for everyone else.

[shirleywins]

I have never "liked" a job that I had to "clock in" to or answer to a boss. This proved to me that I had to be my own boss. Now I do a couple of different things to generate multiple streams of income and I get to choose the hours and the things I want to do. I love it!

[SonoranBob]

I have been a (mostly) free-lance software developer and consultant since 1983 and I have absolutely loved it, except for the occasional a__hole client. And largely thanks to the encouragement and caring of my late wife, who taught me in the mid 1990's that it was okay to lose those kinds of clients, that's not even a problem anymore.

In my work, identifying and solving problems within the practical constraints of resources available is the core skill, and it provides interest, variety and challenge in just the right proportions for me.

It is possible in my profession to suffer. There are terms like "death march project", for example, and the existence of the term and what it evokes tells the story ... and of late, there is a lot of greed, exploitation of third world workers for slave wages, and the need to compete with all that. I have found though that picking niches and making myself indispensable within them, and positioning myself carefully in those markets, has allowed me to have a great paying career, 95% work-at-home, and usually very low pressure.

--Bob

[Liara Covert]

Before a person can honestly say he or she "loves" a job, it makes sense to learn what loving yourself means. For me, loving myself implies getting to know myself well-enough to discern what works or doesn't work for me. Through life experience, we gain a sense of which choices enable us to feel good about ourselves or not. This brings us much closer to our core passions.

[Tuumble]

Originally Posted by Ali from The Office Diet

However, now I have Tuesday off to do what I *really* love (blogging and creative writing), I'm realising just how far the job is from my favourite things and from my goals.

Do you know, I could probably do that myself.

Someone in my office already has Thursdays off to help with child care and comes in early and leaves late on the other four days to make up the hours - he's just reorganised his time.

That would certainly free up time for more rewarding activities.

Hmmm.... [ponders]

[Alison Jenkins]

I am one of those rare people who can honestly say I love my job and all the jobs I have done. But then I'm not in my field for the money I am in it because I love to help others.

Today I work as an online counsellor helping people change their lives for the better. There is nothing more rewarding that watching people grow and fulfill their dreams.

I'd score 10/10 on this job.

Alison

[TomSprewer]

NO, I have no love for my job. But I do have love for my family, and that's the reason why I have the job to provide for them.

I go in there, do my thing, and get out at 6pm. All that counts is ma family, and I do it for them.

Good luck

-Tom