How much do you Enjoy your Job..

They say "Choose a job that you love and you'll never have to work a day". How much do you enjoy your job? Ever thought about how much you can enjoy your job? A good level of job satisfaction is said to make you satisfied with life in general. Here are some ways you can improve your satisfaction.

Phase 1: Examining Yourself

Understand what makes you happy & unhappy - Ask "Why?"
Take some time to make a list of everything that makes you happy & unhappy, no matter how irrelevant to your job. Ex. Shopping, Sports. Now figure out why they make you happy. Why does "Shopping" make you happy? Is it actually shopping? Is it being with friends or constantly having new things? Does your morning commute make you unhappy? Why? Is it the time you spend in the car? (Don't you ever enjoy long drives?) Is it other drivers? Just like you did for the positives, you need to determine why they make you unhappy. Do this for each item-dig deep.

Understand what motivates you:

People like doing the things that motivate them (that's an obvious definition). Make a list of the things that motivate you. Helping others? Accomplishment, recognition, or intellectual stimulation? Or earning enough to save that target amount? This is not particularly easy but it is something you need to discover. What is it that stimulates you?

Phase 2: Examining Your Job

Identify Positive & Negative Aspects - Ask Why:

OK, maybe you don't love your job (yet), but there are at least a few things about it that you actually like. List these first. In a relaxed state of mind consider everything about your job that isn't negative. Periodical fun events, a friendly environment or some likeminded colleagues? Now identify why you like these. This is important because you're going to correlate this with the same list you made earlier. Now the easy part - what about your job do you dislike? List them. Be specific, the environment, or the job role? Now dig deeper. You may have listed that you don't like your boss. Why? What about his behavior affects you in a negative way?

Phase 3: Examining Yourself in Your Job

Tally your lists in Phase 1 & 2: Match Your Positive Influences & Negative Influences
Look closely at the list of things that make you happy and the list of things you like--and dislike--about your job. Interestingly there may be things about your job you dislike that actually match your happy list & some things you listed in the plus side for your job actually match your unhappy list. Ex: "My boss is always hovering around" contradicts "like being around people"; "my boss leaves me alone" contradicts "hate being alone".

Look for Contradictions & Confirmations:

Make a list that contains all the discrepancies and all the match ups.

Check Your Work & Take a Pause:

To be on the safe side, do these exercises a couple of times. Once you are completely sure that all your lists are accurate give yourself some time. Your brain needs it to process the information you've just developed. Plan to move on to the next Phase in a week or two.

Phase 4: Taking Action

Make the Commitment:

The goal you've set is to enjoy your job. To do that, you have to be determined that you're going to make a positive psychological change. Do not believe that just because you've done the pre-work things will magically change for you.

Look for Job-Related Motivation:

Find something about your job that motivates you. You may also want to have a conversation with your boss and see how you can get more of those tasks that incite you. It may not happen all at once; your current assignments are there for a reason and it will take time to adjust the workload, but it helps to communicate your strengths & interests to your boss.

Look for Results:

If you've done the steps and you're taking the actions, you will see results. They will be baby steps at first so you'll have to look for them. When you see a result... rejoice! You're succeeding! Every success is a positive feedback to your brain. One thing though, there will always be some events you don't like. That's normal. When those happen, deal with them decisively, and then move on. Focus on the positives to come.

Note the day you started, check for progress after the passing of a month. Keep a track of your progress and make necessary changes periodically. You will see you enjoy your job better than ever.