Jobs Loves His Job. I Do Too.

The first thing I do in the morning is check my email, then my Facebook (yes, I'm pathetic, thank you!). This morning, I saw a post from my sister's wall that inspired me to write yet another blog.  It was a quote form Steve Jobs.  It stuck the whole day because it hit the mark.

 
What Steve Jobs said is true.  It explains my sadness when I resigned from work a month ago.  Why I struggled with the thought that I will not be doing what I was doing anymore.  It was frightening and weird to wake up and not have emails to address, conference calls to dial in to, or not have my usual check-in with the team.  I hated that I don't have deadlines, that I no longer have problems to solve.  I realized that I really loved what I was doing.  I liked my job. I really like working.  That explains the emotional investment, the clarity and the boundless energy that I put in day after day.

When you like what you do, it will help you persevere in times of stress and adversity.  You might actually like most Mondays.  It also becomes natural that you develop yourself in the process especially when you embrace opportunities and consider every day as a learning experience.  You don't feel cheated off your time and energy, or need someone to show appreciation.  You don't see your job us "just work", or a source of income. If you like your job (or whatever it is that you do - school, hobby, relationship), the effort you put in becomes trivial.  Everything simply makes sense (at least most of the time) so you just do it, and enjoy the ride.

I considered my job as a game, a puzzle that I hardly tire of playing.  Of course, a little recognition helped sweeten the deal -- it's like icing on the cake.  I was told I did "great work".  Cool.  I even heard "brilliant" thrown out to describe the work we did and it inspired me to be better, and to give more. So yes, when you love what you do, there will be great results and if you're lucky, recognition and financial rewards will be served on the side too.  Soon, I hope, I will be back in the game again. It would be great to feel the rush once more.