When someone loves their job, it exudes out of them. They can’t control their actions or behavior. They can’t hide their love.
Some jobs, like mine, are easy to love. I get to travel the world, often staying in pretty nice hotels and am paid well to speak.
Other jobs are not easy. Nursing for example – that’s not an easy job particularly when you are working in a nursing home. Bathing and dressing residents, cleaning up after accidents, dealing with end-of-life issues, and other unpleasant job responsibilities would make this caregiving job a difficult one. But that’s not the case for Andrea, whom I recently met. She absolutely loves her job which is why I stopped her in the hallway last week while visiting someone at a local nursing home. In only a few minutes of listening to her interact with residents and watching her work, it was obvious that nursing was her passion and caring was her mantra. She communicated love in her every interaction.
There was love in her voice as she spoke to each of the residents in her care.
There was love in her soothing touch with a 97-year-old resident.
There was love in her face for each person she passed in the hallways whether resident, co-worker, or visitor.
Anyone around her could feel it and I am sure the residents relish in it every day. Her cheerful disposition and optimism caused me to stop and listen and watch as she created magic.
Eventually I struck up a conversation with her to find out her secret sauce – what made her so good with people?
“I just LOVE my job,” she told me. ‘I have the best residents!”
Nursing wasn’t her first job. She came from the business world until she found her calling. She told me she saw the joy that nursing had brought to her mother, and she wanted to experience that too.
Like all of us, I am sure Andrea has her moments. No job is perfect 100% of the time. We all have to deal with aspects or our job that we don’t like. For example:
- Unpleasant co-workers
- Complaining customers
- Economic downturns
- Unnecessary rules and regulations
- Difficult bosses
- Constant change
- A world-wide pandemic
Love may not solve all of our professional problems, but it sure makes it easier to deal with the unpleasant job duties and challenging people when we love what we do.
Several years ago, my friend Gary told me he was miserable in his job. Though he made a lot of money, he hated his job. Like Andrea, he decided to make a change. He went back to school for another degree in his 50’s and started a totally new career earning substantially less than he did in his previous job. After several years in his new career, he retired happy and fulfilled that he had experienced a career that he loved.
How about you?
Are you doing work that you love?
Can people around feel the love you have for your job?
Are you positive, upbeat, and happy when you are doing your job?
Do you draw people to you because of your attitude?
It’s never too late to make a career change and never too late to find true love.
#Pausitivity #LeadershipDevelopment #Dowhatyoulove
