If your work isn’t fun, are you even doing it right? 

Let me rephrase that. If ANYTHING isn’t fun, you’re probably not doing it right. I admit that it needs to be within reason. Naturally, a funeral is never fun, and filing your taxes isn’t either. 

But, I do believe in making sure that we’re doing what we love, what brings us joy, and what we find fun. This is so important in every area of your life, but especially for your career. 

You're spending hours every day on work tasks. Most of us spend more time working than we do other tasks. If what you’re doing for work isn’t cutting it, it’s time to transition into something else that gets you excited for every day. 

Not Every Task Needs to Be Fun

Now, what I’m saying here doesn’t mean that every little task you do on the job needs to be fun. There are always going to be details of our job description that may not be our number-one favorite thing to do. 

What I do mean is that you need to have a general “like” for what you do. From a broader perspective, you at least need to have a position that fits into your character traits. When you find a job that resonates with who you are as a person, and what you’re naturally inclined to do, your work will be fun and rewarding. 

Zeal Gives You (and Your Work) Purpose 

If you aren’t living within your traits and passions, it will be hard for you to have fun… no matter what you do. For example, if you’re not that social of a person at heart, having to respond to hundreds of emails a day will probably make your head spin. 

But, if you do live within those traits, it will help you get through the aspects of your job that are mediocre. If you’re a person who loves to chat and check-in with others, those hundreds of emails may be the best part of your workday. 

We’re all unique, and we need to find jobs that jive with us if we want to live our happiest lives.

This all starts with knowing yourself. We need to be able to recognize our passions and character traits well enough to know why we either are having fun at our jobs, or why we aren’t. 

Know Yourself to Find Your Fun 

This is the part about “doing it right” that I mentioned. You need to know yourself enough to know that you can actually have fun most of the time while you’re working — it’s a mindset — it’s all about choosing it — because then you’ll be aligned with what you’re doing (and thinking).  Self-awareness about who you are and what you’re here for makes the mundane not so bad because it’s linked to a greater purpose. 

If you know yourself, you’ll be able to see whether or not your job is in alignment with your character traits. If they are not and you’re not having fun, it may be time to transition to a position that better fits your personality. 

If you are in the perfect position but still not having fun, recalibrate your thinking and find the purpose in the tasks that aren’t fun. After all, a positive and enthusiastic vision can transform your experiences for the better.