by 
But I Like it a Lot…a Whole lot!
Do you love your job? Really? Hmmm, not me. I love my wife. I love my children. And I love my dogs, too, though not exactly in the same category as the family…but close. I mean, Mac, my Cavalier Spaniel is man’s best friend, right? But I digress.
People often accuse me of loving my job. “You work so much!”, they say. “You are always writing something about your work and latest assignment.” Well, yes. I spend a third of my life doing something that is fun, challenging, rewarding, and humbling. I am in multifamily! How can I not talk and write about something so significant in my little life?
But I don’t LOVE my job. I do like it a lot…and I want to share some ways that keep me feeling good about work.
Do You Like Your Job?
This is a great question…especially on Monday morning! How are you feeling today about being at work? Are you looking forward to the challenges of the day or already looking forward to Friday? Tuned in or tuned out? On track or derailed? Full of life or just full of it!?
It is not realistic to love your job, every day in every way, is it? Are we supposed to love everything in life? The answer is NO. Life is difficult; it has ups and downs, some that are terrifying, life-changing, and a mystery. Yet, it is the challenges of your life AND your job that give it meaning and provide the greatest satisfaction.
Make Your Job Meaningful, Not Simply Enjoyable
Work is not supposed to be merely fun and stress-free. We are all employed to be a solution to someone’s problem or challenge. That is what makes your job fulfilling…satisfying. Use these mindsets to make your job more likable:
- Consider the impact you have on others in your work. You make a difference in their lives.
- If you are in the apartment industry, celebrate that you provide people with one of life’s basic needs: Shelter! That is a very special calling!
- Learn something daily. Seek training and new responsibilities. Embrace changes and new procedures.
- Focus on the needs of your team. Be a joy to work with. Then see your personal needs get more fully met.
- Make working with a difficult boss or team member a project and attempt to see the job and the world from their perspective. It may still be a tough road but you will learn much to enhance your career journey when you seek to understand the other person’s point of view.
- Be curious. What is going on right now at my workplace and how do I contribute to a better work environment?
Every work day can be a good day if you keep an outlook of curiosity and wonder. What happened? What can I learn from this? How is this making life better for my residents and my coworkers? What is there to celebrate and cheer?
Hey, I hope this does not read too sterile like it was written by AI…because it wasn’t. Some days work sucks! I get it. But you still get to choose what you do with it. It’s your choice to consider some of the thoughts in this post and end up with a better work day and even learn to like your job.
Or you can decide to hate your job and have a long, bad, boring, stressful day. Whatever.
