… do something else.
Here are the elements you may want to consider to do work that you love.
1. Set your own goals …
… not ones determined by biological needs or social convention. Don’t let others tell you what’s important. When you are the one to decide, you give meaning and sense for every action you take whether that action is inherently enjoyable or not. This will give you staying power. When you know your actions are not random, it helps you overcome the naysayers.
2. Identify and work on skills needed to meet goals
Once you’ve set your goals, think about and list the skills you’ll need to achieve them and work on honing those skills. Talk to those who have gone before you, take courses and read books and articles. When you work on your skills, remember to practice deliberately daily and the earlier you get started the faster you’ll get there.
3. Get feedback on how you’re doing
To stay motivated when learning new skills, get accurate feedback on how you’re doing. One way is to set measurable metrics for success and monitor your results. Another is to work with someone who has already mastered the skills you’re learning and get their perspective and guidance for how you’re doing.
4. Engage in activities to achieve your goal
When you’ve filled the skill gaps, use your skills to complete the tasks that will bring your goal to life. When you surf the sweet spot between the boredom of an easy task and anxiety of an overly difficult one, you’ll need to fully concentrate.
5. Savor the immediate experience
This concentration on the present moment will help you enter the enjoyable “flow” state where time begins to melt away and you crowd out self consciousness. Once you’re in flow, the enjoyment comes on its own – there is no need to do anything else.
If you ever flow out of flow, ask yourself the following:
- Are you working on a goal that YOU chose?
- Are you clear on the skills you need to achieve your goal?
- Do you have the skills you need? If not, what are you doing now to learn them?
- When taking action towards your goal, are the activities challenging your highest skill level? If it’s too hard, you’ll get despondent. If it’s too little, you’ll feel stagnant and bored.
The more obstacles you overcome to achieve your goals, the more valuable the goals become to you. Choose a worthwhile goal and invest the effort to attain it.
Inspired by Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Photo by Jules Minus
