"If you think something good about a person, tell them immediately"_ May God preserve you and bless you with peace and prosperity. As always amazing! Thank you so much for sharing :)
"A job was always a means of earning an income. That you want to enjoy your job is not your employer’s problem. You sell your labor, and you are compensated for your time. Any enjoyment of your job is an accidental outcome."
A part of me doesn't agree with this, and the realist (that I know you are) in me does. If you enjoy your job, the energy of that creates forward momentum and motion, and everyone around you in the work place picks up on that. You make more money, create new opportunities for yourself, people actively seek you out to work with you. People who enjoy their work are more particular about it and want to exceed a client's expectations, less likely to slack, feel more pride in doing well.
I see your point, Joanna, and I agree. For example, I enjoy writing more than I would, say, accounting. This comes with the benefits you outline.
There' something else though, and I'd like to get your take on it. Can we enjoy our jobs indefinitely? Personally, I end up getting bored (even disliking) something I once thoroughly enjoyed.
The jobs you've had, Joanna, did you enjoy them for long? Do you know people who do? And, given this tendency to like something increasingly less over time, can an employer structure a job to cater for these changing feelings?
I replied to Joanna and I will if you don’t mind butt in here😊because I am the perfect example of someone who came to love her job. ( My mindset has always been though if you have to do something find something about it to love and be happy) When I entered nursing school in 1981 it was only because I thought it was a marketable job with good pay I could go anywhere and would always be in demand. The actual job I was not so thrilled about and in our very first clinical rotation at the Home for the Sick and Indigent ( yes they actually called it that) way out in Goodells like 22 students quit. It was so bad. I mean things can always be worse but you get my drift the mol buckets and galls smelled of urine and we were paying our money out to do this. But I stuck with it and have never regretted it for one second. The serendipity was that I came to love my patients and everyday was different and I loved my team. Greatest job in the world really!! I would still be doing it 38 yrs later if it wasn’t for the Covid mandates and that is another story. But yes I have known nurses who got burnt out after 2 yrs and nurses I started with still in it. How can employers “ structure” work so employees will enjoy it? Well I can tell you it won’t be by going to endless coffee and donut meetings with the rest of the administration. It will be by going out and working alongside your employers your team showing them you love the work you value them and what they do. Joy is contagious!
Oh my girlfriend! I just looked at your profile!! Love to you! I have resisted all my life being in an advisory or management position because I did not want to be away from the bedside for me that is where it happens God’s grace, the human connection! But as I got older and had to assume more of a leadership position I really learned to value my team and enjoyed working with them and seeing the Image of Christ in them! The Sacramental worldview that Orthodoxy offers and Christ asks us to consider can change everything! Peace to you!!!
Good points here, Holly, drawn from very rich experience. I like the idea of finding something to love, and there will always be something to be happy about. No work is so pointless to completely lack a purpose.
I hope employers learn: employees want support; they want to see bosses working alongside them. They don't want "endless coffee and donut meetings". Bureaucracy is killing energy and creativity in organizations.
What a question Patrick! "Can we enjoy our jobs indefinitely?"
My honest answer is no. However I do think that it's vital to enjoy the skills you practice everyday, the purpose of your work, and feel like your individual talents are being utilised and recognised. Maybe I'm not being a realist here, but I do believe each of us are born with unique gifts, and it's our duty to gift them back to the world and improve things for the better. The skills you enjoy practicing and the kind of tasks and work you enjoy doing is MORE important than a job.
Because I have a portfolio career, I've had long jobs and short jobs, many at the same time whether through projects or ongoing work. I'm entrepreneurial at heart, so I have more freedom to decide what work I enjoy and which bits I want to outsource to a person who enjoys that aspect of the work. What I've come to realise through my own work is that I have a skill for (and enjoy) translating very complex information for diverse audiences. I've co-authored history with politicians who've made history, helped draft and communicate a proposal for a new constitutional settlement for the UK, written about wellness for British Vogue (I'm think I'm the only person in the world who can simultaneously write about Brexit as an academic at Cambridge and vibrational energy for British Vogue 😂, but I LOVE it) and now I'm bringing all these skills and different avenues to my writing here on Substack where I have the creative freedom, as the founder of my Substack, to write and communicate what I think is important to me and which I enjoy. And I'm hoping that the angle of my work on here will lead to the work opportunities I'm after.
I'm more playful and act on my curiosity more than my friends who have worked for a long time in a corporate job for one employer. I don't think they do enjoy their jobs, but they lack the curiosity to do something different and ACT on it. They don't have a bigger vision. My own path and awareness of when to start/stop something has put me in interesting places and opened some extremely interesting doors that I didn't even think was possible. I do think an employer can structure a job to cater for these changing feelings, and it's something good employers will do. Otherwise, I think the changing nature of work and employment means that we ourselves have to instigate more. But we need to be clear on what it is we enjoy, and what we would like to do more of.
Thank you for this elaborate response, Joanna. You have enlightened me on this matter of skills vs the job. I now understand your argument much better. Almost mirrors the explanation as to why some people like learning but don't like schooling.
I think skills can be enjoyed, and work can certainly be enjoyed (or be at least less boring) if performed as one likes. Also agree that employers can do a lot more in structuring work in a way that people can have more fun doing it. They are trying with things like remote work, but they can still go much further in infusing flexibility.
Thanks for this insightful discussion, Joanna. Always happy to hear your enlightening thoughts.
I hear you and agree with you but your enjoyment is still a sort of accidental outcome, serendipity yes? As you say if you in enjoy your job it makes a world of difference. I worked with a Cardiovascular Dr in Mt Clemens who said to me once, Holly no amount of money will be enough if you don’t love your work. I think that is true but as I told him I still need to feed my family
There are a lot of valuable insights here, YOU need to understand yourself, understand others, and see the true purpose of things to live a fulfilling life. Our time here is fleeting but we have opportunities to impact those around us. Thanks for sharing this my friend and keep going :-).
Welcome bro, and thanks for this wise observation - purpose, and understanding ourselves and others. Thank you and wishing you all the best too. Let's keep going!
"Don’t worry about not knowing, but be perceptive and malleable enough to bend to the teachings of the necessary knowledge. " I feel like I'm constantly reminding myself that it 's not my fault for not knowing what I don't know yet.
"Living is your job" – love this! Taking responsibility over your life and not putting it on others' is a skill. Once earned, you become in control of what to do and what to ignore (as you deepen the great realisation that you won't have it all!).
True, Basma. The key word is responsibility, knowing that it's on you, and that no one else can do it for you. This can be scary, but it's also the truth we need to give it our best.
Institutions and modernity - Harsh but true; our happiness is our responsibility .
Energy and Ignite - maybe an exception is when you’re in or learning a new subject or skill . It might not be of interest in the beginning, but maybe deeper into the subject and all its intricacies might ignite enthusiasm ?
You make a good point here, Liny. When learning a new skill, excitement does build up as more is revealed. But we must remain curious for this to be so. A lovely point, also shows how the curious ones can escape or delay this deceleration in enthusiasm.
This is so beautifully written. Thank you Patrick!
I loved everything, but the part I loved the most is not expecting your employer to ensure that you find happiness in your work and find your own meaning of it instead. I think it is an interesting perspective on looking for meaning and happiness in life yourself instead of wanting someone else to hand it to you.
I’ll share this with a friend who I think needs to read this as well.
Welcome, Mansi, and thank you too. Glad you found it insightful. It's important that we are not mistaken to believe we can outsource this job of finding happiness.
Always grateful for your time and input. Thanks once again.
The bit about loving our job hit home for me, I feel
like we often have too high expectations of our jobs and end up chasing "dream jobs" that actually don't exist. Same goes for marriage - we cannot outsource our happiness and fulfillment to institutions or we might be disappointed. Thank you so much, Patrick! A brilliant article once again. I also liked that it contained several thoughts / topics, thank you for exploring this format 🤍🤍🤍.
Welcome, Katharina, and thanks. Talking of work, I think you've been very busy lately. Hoping you can breath a bit now. Thanks and grateful, as always.
I love the part about compliments, Patrick. So often in life, people never receive compliments. And that simple act of kindness can make someone's day, or more. Again, so much wisdom to consider. Thank you!
Thank you, as always, Jeanine. I think we should normalize complimenting each other a lot more. If something is worthy of praise, if someone does something good, let's compliment accordingly. Lots of people aren't getting validation, even when they do great things. As you point out, it matters a great deal. I'm sure we all recall instances when someone did something kind for us.
Hey Patrick, literally so much wisdom in this post. Thank you for writing this. My favorite parts are "What you must know" and "Institutions and Modernity". I get restless sometimes when I identify the problem/trauma/unlimiting belief in me and look for ways to improve on those things. But you are right, even our mistakes take us to the life we wanna live and I always find wisdom either from my soul, or somewhere outside to improve those things in me.
With my job thing, there was like full six months in my life last year where I wanted to quit my job. But instead of quitting I took a long break of 2.5 months and came back. When I came back as I was happy and recharged, I actually noticed parts of my job which are good and makes me happy. So I am trying to engage myself most in those parts and yes there are certain parts of my job I don't like, I try those parts not to take much energy from me. The main thing I learned is listening to what I am feeling at the moment and if it continues take actions to help yourself to feel better.
Welcome Harneek, and thanks for what you share here. This restlessness is itself part of the learning we need. It is not enjoyable, of course, but it's part of the process.
You share an important idea regarding work. No work is so bad that nothing about it can be enjoyed, and none is ever so good that we'll like everything. The key is to find the parts we like, perhaps specialize in doing more of them, and thus create better (or at least less boring) experiences.
Thank you for another series of deep thoughts. I enjoy your view point.
With jobs, I do get bored if my original goal was just to make money. That wasn’t the case with my psychotherapist career. (No one gets into this field to get rich 🤭). I chose this job because I believed I could help people find what they were seeking, and teach them the questions that could lead them to better answers. After 30+ years of it, I never got bored.. I simply am more tired, and want to go more slowly through my days. I still work with a limited group of clients, but am no longer accepting new ones.
Other jobs I have done became boring when the owners / managers did not care about their staff. That’s when I usually left.
I didn't know you had other jobs before becoming a psychotherapist. I guess the passion you show with this one makes it hard to imagine there were ever others before it.
This is understandable, though, I think you just like helping people, and thus psychotherapy is work in line with this broader objective.
Yes, many other jobs. I began this career of mine when I was 40.
I suspect it was in me all along. I was always the person who found themselves gladly listening to others. Inevitably they would say to me ‘I’ve never told anyone this before…’. (And many still do).
I appreciate your ability to cut right to the most clear insight about so many things. It always feels very supportive.
"If you think something good about a person, tell them immediately"_ May God preserve you and bless you with peace and prosperity. As always amazing! Thank you so much for sharing :)
Thank you, Asma; praying the same for you too. Always grateful for your time and thoughts.
My pleasure!
"A job was always a means of earning an income. That you want to enjoy your job is not your employer’s problem. You sell your labor, and you are compensated for your time. Any enjoyment of your job is an accidental outcome."
A part of me doesn't agree with this, and the realist (that I know you are) in me does. If you enjoy your job, the energy of that creates forward momentum and motion, and everyone around you in the work place picks up on that. You make more money, create new opportunities for yourself, people actively seek you out to work with you. People who enjoy their work are more particular about it and want to exceed a client's expectations, less likely to slack, feel more pride in doing well.
I see your point, Joanna, and I agree. For example, I enjoy writing more than I would, say, accounting. This comes with the benefits you outline.
There' something else though, and I'd like to get your take on it. Can we enjoy our jobs indefinitely? Personally, I end up getting bored (even disliking) something I once thoroughly enjoyed.
The jobs you've had, Joanna, did you enjoy them for long? Do you know people who do? And, given this tendency to like something increasingly less over time, can an employer structure a job to cater for these changing feelings?
I replied to Joanna and I will if you don’t mind butt in here😊because I am the perfect example of someone who came to love her job. ( My mindset has always been though if you have to do something find something about it to love and be happy) When I entered nursing school in 1981 it was only because I thought it was a marketable job with good pay I could go anywhere and would always be in demand. The actual job I was not so thrilled about and in our very first clinical rotation at the Home for the Sick and Indigent ( yes they actually called it that) way out in Goodells like 22 students quit. It was so bad. I mean things can always be worse but you get my drift the mol buckets and galls smelled of urine and we were paying our money out to do this. But I stuck with it and have never regretted it for one second. The serendipity was that I came to love my patients and everyday was different and I loved my team. Greatest job in the world really!! I would still be doing it 38 yrs later if it wasn’t for the Covid mandates and that is another story. But yes I have known nurses who got burnt out after 2 yrs and nurses I started with still in it. How can employers “ structure” work so employees will enjoy it? Well I can tell you it won’t be by going to endless coffee and donut meetings with the rest of the administration. It will be by going out and working alongside your employers your team showing them you love the work you value them and what they do. Joy is contagious!
"showing them you love the work you value them and what they do. Joy is contagious!" Totally agree with this Holly.
Oh my girlfriend! I just looked at your profile!! Love to you! I have resisted all my life being in an advisory or management position because I did not want to be away from the bedside for me that is where it happens God’s grace, the human connection! But as I got older and had to assume more of a leadership position I really learned to value my team and enjoyed working with them and seeing the Image of Christ in them! The Sacramental worldview that Orthodoxy offers and Christ asks us to consider can change everything! Peace to you!!!
Good points here, Holly, drawn from very rich experience. I like the idea of finding something to love, and there will always be something to be happy about. No work is so pointless to completely lack a purpose.
I hope employers learn: employees want support; they want to see bosses working alongside them. They don't want "endless coffee and donut meetings". Bureaucracy is killing energy and creativity in organizations.
Thanks for this comment, Holly.
What a question Patrick! "Can we enjoy our jobs indefinitely?"
My honest answer is no. However I do think that it's vital to enjoy the skills you practice everyday, the purpose of your work, and feel like your individual talents are being utilised and recognised. Maybe I'm not being a realist here, but I do believe each of us are born with unique gifts, and it's our duty to gift them back to the world and improve things for the better. The skills you enjoy practicing and the kind of tasks and work you enjoy doing is MORE important than a job.
Because I have a portfolio career, I've had long jobs and short jobs, many at the same time whether through projects or ongoing work. I'm entrepreneurial at heart, so I have more freedom to decide what work I enjoy and which bits I want to outsource to a person who enjoys that aspect of the work. What I've come to realise through my own work is that I have a skill for (and enjoy) translating very complex information for diverse audiences. I've co-authored history with politicians who've made history, helped draft and communicate a proposal for a new constitutional settlement for the UK, written about wellness for British Vogue (I'm think I'm the only person in the world who can simultaneously write about Brexit as an academic at Cambridge and vibrational energy for British Vogue 😂, but I LOVE it) and now I'm bringing all these skills and different avenues to my writing here on Substack where I have the creative freedom, as the founder of my Substack, to write and communicate what I think is important to me and which I enjoy. And I'm hoping that the angle of my work on here will lead to the work opportunities I'm after.
I'm more playful and act on my curiosity more than my friends who have worked for a long time in a corporate job for one employer. I don't think they do enjoy their jobs, but they lack the curiosity to do something different and ACT on it. They don't have a bigger vision. My own path and awareness of when to start/stop something has put me in interesting places and opened some extremely interesting doors that I didn't even think was possible. I do think an employer can structure a job to cater for these changing feelings, and it's something good employers will do. Otherwise, I think the changing nature of work and employment means that we ourselves have to instigate more. But we need to be clear on what it is we enjoy, and what we would like to do more of.
Thank you for this elaborate response, Joanna. You have enlightened me on this matter of skills vs the job. I now understand your argument much better. Almost mirrors the explanation as to why some people like learning but don't like schooling.
I think skills can be enjoyed, and work can certainly be enjoyed (or be at least less boring) if performed as one likes. Also agree that employers can do a lot more in structuring work in a way that people can have more fun doing it. They are trying with things like remote work, but they can still go much further in infusing flexibility.
Thanks for this insightful discussion, Joanna. Always happy to hear your enlightening thoughts.
I hear you and agree with you but your enjoyment is still a sort of accidental outcome, serendipity yes? As you say if you in enjoy your job it makes a world of difference. I worked with a Cardiovascular Dr in Mt Clemens who said to me once, Holly no amount of money will be enough if you don’t love your work. I think that is true but as I told him I still need to feed my family
"If you think something good about a person, tell them immediately."
That is such a great habit, thanks for the reminder Patrick!
Welcome, Istiaq, and thanks for stopping by.
Well articulated thoughts.
Thank you Harun.
There are a lot of valuable insights here, YOU need to understand yourself, understand others, and see the true purpose of things to live a fulfilling life. Our time here is fleeting but we have opportunities to impact those around us. Thanks for sharing this my friend and keep going :-).
Welcome bro, and thanks for this wise observation - purpose, and understanding ourselves and others. Thank you and wishing you all the best too. Let's keep going!
"Don’t worry about not knowing, but be perceptive and malleable enough to bend to the teachings of the necessary knowledge. " I feel like I'm constantly reminding myself that it 's not my fault for not knowing what I don't know yet.
We need to be gracious and patient with ourselves, Elizabeth. There will always be something we don't know (yet).
"Living is your job" – love this! Taking responsibility over your life and not putting it on others' is a skill. Once earned, you become in control of what to do and what to ignore (as you deepen the great realisation that you won't have it all!).
True, Basma. The key word is responsibility, knowing that it's on you, and that no one else can do it for you. This can be scary, but it's also the truth we need to give it our best.
Institutions and modernity - Harsh but true; our happiness is our responsibility .
Energy and Ignite - maybe an exception is when you’re in or learning a new subject or skill . It might not be of interest in the beginning, but maybe deeper into the subject and all its intricacies might ignite enthusiasm ?
You make a good point here, Liny. When learning a new skill, excitement does build up as more is revealed. But we must remain curious for this to be so. A lovely point, also shows how the curious ones can escape or delay this deceleration in enthusiasm.
Yes, you’re right, if a person is curious and maybe a little bit creative, the enthusiasm will last longer.
I don't want to forget this compliment: You're a great writer Patrick. Thanks for adding fresh and logical perspectives to these different topics.
Welcome, Daniel, and thank you very much for this compliment.
This is so beautifully written. Thank you Patrick!
I loved everything, but the part I loved the most is not expecting your employer to ensure that you find happiness in your work and find your own meaning of it instead. I think it is an interesting perspective on looking for meaning and happiness in life yourself instead of wanting someone else to hand it to you.
I’ll share this with a friend who I think needs to read this as well.
Welcome, Mansi, and thank you too. Glad you found it insightful. It's important that we are not mistaken to believe we can outsource this job of finding happiness.
Always grateful for your time and input. Thanks once again.
The bit about loving our job hit home for me, I feel
like we often have too high expectations of our jobs and end up chasing "dream jobs" that actually don't exist. Same goes for marriage - we cannot outsource our happiness and fulfillment to institutions or we might be disappointed. Thank you so much, Patrick! A brilliant article once again. I also liked that it contained several thoughts / topics, thank you for exploring this format 🤍🤍🤍.
Welcome, Katharina, and thanks. Talking of work, I think you've been very busy lately. Hoping you can breath a bit now. Thanks and grateful, as always.
Yes, extremely busy but the weekend is near. 🤗🤗
Some of the best advice and thoughts I've seen in a while. Thanks for the great read Patrick.
Welcome Dylan, and thanks very much for reading and commenting.
I love the part about compliments, Patrick. So often in life, people never receive compliments. And that simple act of kindness can make someone's day, or more. Again, so much wisdom to consider. Thank you!
Thank you, as always, Jeanine. I think we should normalize complimenting each other a lot more. If something is worthy of praise, if someone does something good, let's compliment accordingly. Lots of people aren't getting validation, even when they do great things. As you point out, it matters a great deal. I'm sure we all recall instances when someone did something kind for us.
Hey Patrick, literally so much wisdom in this post. Thank you for writing this. My favorite parts are "What you must know" and "Institutions and Modernity". I get restless sometimes when I identify the problem/trauma/unlimiting belief in me and look for ways to improve on those things. But you are right, even our mistakes take us to the life we wanna live and I always find wisdom either from my soul, or somewhere outside to improve those things in me.
With my job thing, there was like full six months in my life last year where I wanted to quit my job. But instead of quitting I took a long break of 2.5 months and came back. When I came back as I was happy and recharged, I actually noticed parts of my job which are good and makes me happy. So I am trying to engage myself most in those parts and yes there are certain parts of my job I don't like, I try those parts not to take much energy from me. The main thing I learned is listening to what I am feeling at the moment and if it continues take actions to help yourself to feel better.
Welcome Harneek, and thanks for what you share here. This restlessness is itself part of the learning we need. It is not enjoyable, of course, but it's part of the process.
You share an important idea regarding work. No work is so bad that nothing about it can be enjoyed, and none is ever so good that we'll like everything. The key is to find the parts we like, perhaps specialize in doing more of them, and thus create better (or at least less boring) experiences.
Thanks once again for sharing this.
“Whatever isn’t exciting enough to start won’t be rational enough to continue.”
Well said Patrick. Thank you again for such an amazing and thought provoking article.
Welcome, Ivy, and thanks. So glad that you found it so.
You’re welcome
Thank you for another series of deep thoughts. I enjoy your view point.
With jobs, I do get bored if my original goal was just to make money. That wasn’t the case with my psychotherapist career. (No one gets into this field to get rich 🤭). I chose this job because I believed I could help people find what they were seeking, and teach them the questions that could lead them to better answers. After 30+ years of it, I never got bored.. I simply am more tired, and want to go more slowly through my days. I still work with a limited group of clients, but am no longer accepting new ones.
Other jobs I have done became boring when the owners / managers did not care about their staff. That’s when I usually left.
Welcome, Teyani, and thanks.
I didn't know you had other jobs before becoming a psychotherapist. I guess the passion you show with this one makes it hard to imagine there were ever others before it.
This is understandable, though, I think you just like helping people, and thus psychotherapy is work in line with this broader objective.
Ahhhh. Thank you, my friend.
Yes, many other jobs. I began this career of mine when I was 40.
I suspect it was in me all along. I was always the person who found themselves gladly listening to others. Inevitably they would say to me ‘I’ve never told anyone this before…’. (And many still do).
I appreciate your ability to cut right to the most clear insight about so many things. It always feels very supportive.