How to love what you do – no matter what it is – in 7 easy steps

Love what you do? For most of us, finding a job role where we feel happy, fulfilled and monetarily satisfied is a life goal. It’s not always easy to work out exactly what your strengths are; even when you do, it can often be a challenge to find a career that fits.

Love what you do at work, play and with family time too

Even if “career” is not your focus, loving what you do is essential to your mental wellbeing. If you hate your day-to-day activities you may end up growing resentful and even worse, depressed. Being connected to “what you do” can make you a happier, more fulfilled person all round.

“I was lucky,” says Apple founder Steve Jobs, “I found what I loved to do early in life. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.”

Even if your goals aren’t as lofty – you’ll only get where you want in life by identifying what you want to do and then committing to being passionate about it. Here’s how.

1. Be engaged

Many people show up for work day to day in jobs that they don’t feel engaged with. Many parents are all but absent from their kids’ emotional lives and simply provide food and shelter. No matter what you do – you need to be engaged with it. Tackle each task with enthusiasm – even if it’s reading your kid a bedtime story.

At the end of each day – go back over the last 16 hours or so and work out where you were most engaged and where your attention flagged and why.

2. Change things around

Routines are an awesome way to get organised but if you feel that you’re lacking engagement with your job, your home life or your personal projects – switch things up. Do something dramatic (yet sensible) and see how you go. Most major decisions can be reversed with a little forethought and planning.

Be bold and brave and don’t worry about what other people might think. Change the hours you work, the processes you have in place or things you do day to day.

3. Connect with people

Throughout our working lives, often it’s the people we work with that make all the difference to our experiences. Take the time to gain joy from the people around you. The world is filled with wonderful, humorous and caring people and often all they need is someone to connect with them to improve their day.

If you don’t know anyone like that, consider if your own attitude or personality is the problem. Are you too rushed? Are you self-important? Could you connect better with people? Practise every day.

4. Try new ways of doing tasks

Are there parts of your day you simply can’t stand? Is your commute a drag? Do you hate invoicing people or doing boring data entry? Maybe writing is not your strong point or technology mystifies you? Grow your support network and try new ways of doing tasks – could you tackle a difficult task in the morning to get it out of the way, while you are still ‘fresh’ for the day?

5. Constantly re-evaluate

We are changing every day. What you loved in your twenties may not “do it for you” in your forties or fifties. Our needs constantly shift and grow – so you need to become comfortable with re-evaluating your goals, your life and your purpose – often. That’s the key to successful growth.

6. Be brave

Doors rocker Jim Morrison said, “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”

Bold moves (if planned and thought out) can be a great way to gain back the passion to love what you do. Challenge the norm and think outside the square. Often if we are feeling uninspired and not invigorated – it’s because we’ve been stuck in a rut and going in circles.

7. Come up with a “love what you do” mantra

Thinking positively about what you do and what you are trying to achieve can help set your mental mindset for success. Even if you don’t love what you do – or what you have to do every day – try to find the small moments of joy in your life.