Have you ever thought “I hate my job?”

According to a recent publication by the Gallup Organization entitled, State of the Global Workplace, Employee Engagement Insights for Business Leaders Worldwide, only 13% of employees are engaged at work.  By engaged, they mean that they are emotionally invested and actually ‘showing up’ for work to contribute each day.  To me, that means we have a lot of people going to work and doing tasks and functions, and their minds are somewhere else.  This I would define as a ‘job’.

Career versus Job

Jobs are tasks and functions without your heart.  A career is when everything is engaged, and your heart is in your tasks.  It reminds of when I ask my mom how she makes such delicious biscuits and she says, with love.  Any task, no matter how great or small, can be increased when your heart is there too.  Therefore, any job can be transformed into a career if you so choose.

How to ‘Show Up’ at Work

Now, I am not naive to workplace challenges.  Bosses matter. Teams matter.  Putting your heart into something only to have someone shoot it down in the board room is a sure way never to show up at work again.  However, dealing with these issues doesn’t have to squelch your creativity.  I must admit, it’s a hard and fine line to travel, but here are some words of advice and encouragement to help you show up at work.

• Be conscious about where your mind is at work.
• Write down the issues that continue to get under your skin and cause you to shut down.
• Come up with a plan to address or confront the issue (even if that means you start looking for a better fit).
• Give yourself motivation, what is one thing that you can align yourself with that motivates you (at times for me, it’s been a paycheck).
• Think of five areas that you are proud of in your work.

You Control Your State of Mind

You’ll never be able to control other people at work; not your boss, not your co-workers, not your employees.  The only power you really have is over your own behavior and your own choices at work.  So, start with your current, I hate my job, position.  Use it as a muscle you are trying to develop to really show up at work.  Sometimes a change of attitude can shift the dynamics enough so that a job change isn’t needed.  And other times, it’s time to pack your bags.

The first step is to show up at work and try.  I know times are tough and it’s scary to think of a job search in today’s economy, so start small by shifting your mentality to ‘I want to show up’ or ‘I am ready to put my heart into something’. This is the first step towards a fulfilling career.  How to get there will come, in time.

Think.Inspire.Change.Grow