Depending on the research you read, 40 to 60 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs. Perhaps this isn’t surprising when you look at how most of us choose our careers. First, we go to school, gain skills, and get exposed to a variety of classes that leave us with a general sense of our relative likes and dislikes. From there we get familiar with the types of jobs in a certain field of interest and hedge our bets on which career will be the best fit for us. nnSo, we join the workforce, and after we’ve had our first job or two, our general sense of likes and dislikes becomes more honed. But there is still this pervasive feeling that you’re not really sure what you want to do when you “grow up.” nnCulturally, a career seems to be defined as “a way to make money so that one can afford the quality of life one really wants.” This perspective of career is focused on getting money so that you can have and do things when you’re not working. The actual work of the career is overlooked or at best considered a tolerable necessity. Yet, for most of us, the hours spent working far outnumber the hours we have to enjoy our hard-earned “quality of life.” Let’s face it: we want to do more than tolerate our work. We want to enjoy it! nHow Do You Find Work You Love?nnPut down the classifieds and get clear on what you’re looking for! To find work you love, you need to start by looking at your career from a different perspective . . . a perspective that recognizes that your satisfaction with the day-to-day activities of your work is vital for you to experience the quality of life you truly desire. Work you love comes from engaging in work that cultivates your desired talents, honors your innate values, and serves to make the difference you truly want to make, while being both personally and financially rewarding.nnFrom this perspective you’re looking for work that honors your natural way of being and puts it in service of others. Notice your natural tendencies of how you respond to others and create an impact on situations. Observe the features that consistently stand out in how you approach others and solve problems. Here are a few questions to consider as you look at your natural way of being. To get the most out of this, spend at least 10 minutes writing your answer to each question. nnWhat do people tend to consistently say about you? What do people praise about you?nDescribe three achievements that you are most proud of thus far in your lifetime. What’s similar about the way you accomplished these achievements?nWhat are you doing when you lose track of time? What are you doing when you feel most alive and fully engaged?nIdentify the various jobs you’ve had that were not a good fit. What value was stepped on or overlooked in each job? What beliefs were dishonored?nDescribe a time you were at your peak performance. Who were you being—what were you doing when you were most satisfied with yourself? What values were you honoring?nnYou have a unique message to deliver, a unique song to sing, a unique act of love to bestow. This message, this song and this act of love have been entrusted exclusively to the one and only you.n– John Powell, S.J.nnHaving knowledge and understanding of your natural way of being can help identify two main things: what you like to do and how you like to do it. For example, if you realize you consistently bring humor and camaraderie to group interactions and easily rally people around your ideas, you may find leading a team will be a natural aspect of work you’d love. nnThere is a third aspect of career that is perhaps the most important. Anyone can take his natural way of being and do a variety of jobs with it. But doing work you love isn’t only about doing what you can do; it’s about getting to do what you most want to do. What makes work fulfilling is when you put your natural qualities in service of what matters most to you. This requires discovering the difference you want to make—the impact you want to have. nnWhen you think of doing work you love, think big! Think amazing possibilities! Think joy and fulfillment! Choosing a career becomes a reflection of your conscious choice to make a particular difference. Your career gives you the opportunity to get paid for the time and actions you take in effort to make your desired impact on others and the world. nnHere are a few questions to consider when thinking about the difference you want to make. Again, to get the most out of this, spend at least 10 minutes writing your answer to each question. nnWhat is it you want to teach people? What desire do you have for creating a better way of doing something? What do you find yourself frequently talking passionately about? nWhere do you see potential for humanity to grow, change, and improve? What aspect of human potential inspires you most?nWhat angers or saddens you about the world and humanity? What do you find yourself getting mad or sad about in the daily news?nWhat’s the legacy you want to leave? What do you want most for the people who come after you?nImagine for a moment that you are speaking before a large crowd. You deeply care for this particular group and speak passionately to them. What is the message you share? Who are the people in this crowd, and what is the impact of your message to them? nnAs your conviction becomes apparent, your vague sense of your likes and dislikes is replaced by a compelling drive to fulfill a specific purpose.nnDoing work you love supports you to be who you want to be, to do what matters most to you, and to have more than you dreamed of. When you do work you love, you’re doing your BEST work, work that:nnBrings you joy and abundancenEmbraces your natural way of being nServes to make the difference you most want to make nTies your actions to what matters most to you.nnThe highest reward for a person’s work is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.n– John RuskinnnAs you know, your career life profoundly impacts your relationships, your finances, your health, your hopes, and your dreams—your whole life! What is possible if you commit to doing work you love? How will your life change if you do? How will it change if you don’t? nn** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit
http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways2.html.