The Importance of Loving What You Do

Let’s talk about our work lives. Say you work a fairly standard work schedule, around 40 hours a week. That’s nearly a quarter (23.8%) of your entire week. If you sleep eight hours a night, that’s another third of your week eaten up. Work takes up a huge chunk of your time and mental energy. If you get stuck in a rut where you’re lacking inspiration or falling out of love with your work, it begins to feel like all you do is work…or think about work…or eat, or sleep.

“Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life.” —Someone

Have you encountered this little piece of wisdom before? It’s a quote that’s been used so frequently we can’t even figure out who originally said it. Despite the mystery of whose quote this is, its popularity likely reflects how desperately we want it to be true. That’s the dream, right? To have a well-paying and satisfying job that doesn’t feel like work. And to not feel dread every Sunday evening as the upcoming week looms over your conscience.

What’s the big deal about loving what you do? Here are a few reasons to take it to heart.

Loving what you do makes your work a lot easier.

On the topic of work-life balance, Steve Jobs said it well:

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."

It’s almost such a simple concept you might smack yourself for not thinking of it first. You’re going to work a lot over the course of your life. And you’ll only be on the planet for so long, so that time has to count. It’s never too late to self-assess and ask yourself, “Is this really what I want to be doing with my time? Is this the best use of my skills? The best outlet for my passion?”

On a more granular level, loving what you do makes each work day go more quickly—while you produce better results. If you’ve ever heard of the concept of “flow,” that’s what we’re alluding to. Here’s how author Dragos Bratasanu defines it:

“Flow is a state of being when we are completely focused, and fully immersed in what we are doing. In flow our work seems effortless, creativity goes into overdrive, we feel inspired, and motivation springs forth from within.”

Loving what you do improves your quality of life.

There are also proven health benefits to loving what you do. When your personal life and work life are both balanced and based around your passions, you’re simply going to feel better—maybe even live longer. When your work is in a field you love, you can expect lower stress levels, better brain and body health, better relationships, and more. Conversely, the longer you languish in a job you hate, the more you risk wrecking your health.

When you love what you do, you’re a more engaged contributor, a better teammate, and a happier, more balanced person.

Again, it’s never too late to make a change. That doesn’t mean it’s not going to be at least a little bit scary, but author Israelmore Ayivor connects the dots between loving what you do, building a better relationship with your work, and growing your resilience:

“If you don’t do what you love, you will never love what you do. And if you don’t love whatever you do, you are likely to be worried anytime a duty is assigned to you concerning that.”

Loving what you do helps you to discover your best self.

How familiar are you with Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs? It’s a framework for understanding the human experience and what it means to feel safe and secure, like you belong and are loved, and to develop self-esteem and, ultimately, self-actualization. Here’s how he explains the core philosophy behind the iconic pyramid and the importance of knowing who you are:

“Musicians must make music, artists must paint, poets must write if they are to ultimately be at peace with themselves. What human beings can be, they must be.”

And here’s what the actual hierarchy looks like:

Image from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Most jobs satisfy a person’s most basic needs—namely, a safe workplace and wages that enable them to have reliable food to eat and a place to live. Sadly, for many people this is all they work for: the paycheck. It’s why we frequently use analogies like referring to work as the grind or rat race. What delightful imagery! These people literally think of work as a necessary evil that they just have to deal with in order to merely live.

But people who love what they do have a different experience altogether. They aren’t constantly second-guessing themselves and their choices, they don’t let feelings like resentment creep into their thinking. They often can’t imagine how people live their lives like that.

When you love what you do, you can realize work-life balance.

Believe it or not, when you actually enjoy your work and find it appropriately fulfilling and challenging, the mysterious old quote about “never work[ing] a day in your life” actually starts to ring true. The concept of work-life balance no longer feels impossible. You don’t dread going into work, dealing with your colleagues, or accepting new responsibilities. It’s easier to contribute and collaborate when you’re not constantly second-guessing the life choices that got you into the role you’re in.

“...but what if I don’t love what I do?”

What, you don’t live in a fantasy world where everyone feels like they’re living their best life? You don’t wake up every morning celebrating your employment? We get it—it happens. Here are a few tips to help you rediscover your passion—or know when it might be time to look for something else to be doing.

A lot of times, people mistakenly think they’re trapped in jobs or careers. You might feel like you just need to “stick it out” or “toughen up.” But what if the problem lies not with you, but with the job? There’s no shame in job-hopping, even completely changing careers—whether you’re 20, 40, or even 60.

Did you know that the average number of different jobs a person holds over the course of their working years is 12? That means a pretty large subset of the readers of this very blog may still have multiple different occupations ahead of them. If you’re able to find satisfaction and growth in the same job for 20 years, though, there’s nothing wrong with that either!

That being said, about half (49%) of American workers say they are very satisfied with their current job.

What, exactly, do these numbers mean for you and your career? Not a whole lot—other than the fact that you shouldn’t feel bad if you’re not feeling the love any more.

There are, as we’ve hopefully pointed out throughout this blog, plenty of reasons to believe that you largely control your own destiny and that there’s no time like the present to start redefining your relationship with your work. That way you can be happier and healthier, do better work, and feel more satisfied with not just where you’re at today, but where you’d like to be tomorrow.

Wherever You’re Going, Moser Consulting is Here to Help

For more than 25 years and counting, we’ve been passionate about empowering others to reach their goals by helping them discover the talent and/or technology that can help them get there. Being socially-minded is an important part of Moser’s culture, and the times we’re able to help clients solve their technology problems with intuitive and forward-thinking solutions are the times we truly love what we do! Visit our website to discover what motivates us and our full range of service offerings, or send us a message if you’re interested in learning even more.