Do you need to change your point of view?

I am over people on Facebook who complain about their jobs. Stop it. You get on everyone's nerves. And there is a better way to live. Listen up.

In a leadership class I'm taking we had a session on changing your point of view. Here's how it works:

First, you look at some negative stance you have: My job is a boring, worthless activity.

Then you figure out what impact that point of view has on the people around you: You don't work very hard or you bring down morale of your coworkers.

Next, try to understand what benefit you are actually deriving from holding that point of view: By seeing your job as boring and worthless, you justify your decision not to work very hard. Or by seeing your job as boring and worthless, you feel as though you are smarter or better than those you work with.

There will be some diversionary paths in this next step. It could be that your job is boring and worthless and you are smarter than your coworkers. Well, get a better job or make some other change that allows you to meet your own expectations. More likely though, there is a way that you can change your point of view about your job that will be a win-win for everyone. Here's an example of how that works.

My job is a boring and worthless, activity...

Maybe it's not boring. Maybe it's a repetitive activity that you excel at or maybe it's something you visibly accomplish every day. Maybe there are things you could do outside of your daily tasks that would be rewarding, like learning from a mentor or creating a new standard level of excellence. Obviously, many of you have time to spend on the internet as you do your job, so why not use that flexibility to start a blog or learn a language or read some sort of educational material you might be interested in. Perhaps there are other things you can do to challenge yourself, like more output or higher quality or some other measurable goal.

It certainly is not worthless. I mean, they pay you, right? Are you doing something socially meaningful? Are you creating a product or service that keeps people safe or well or functioning in some way? Are you serving people in some way? Are there people that have vast histories and abilities and stories that could be interesting to learn about? Are you making a difference? Perhaps in ways you don't even know and may never know?

Last, you figure out how to word your point of view in a way that fits: My job is a daily rewarding, difference-making activity. My job is a future building, socially rewarding activity. My job is an opportunistic, beneficial activity.

This can work for many points of view that you'd like to change. I'm trying it on with several myself.

But for those of you that view Sunday as the end to your freedom or a day of agony that you have to go to work tomorrow... and for those of you that spend the whole 5 day week counting down the days until you get 2 days off... and for those of you that hate your coworkers... and for those of you that flip out several times a week so much that you feel the need to vent to hundreds of people - realize this, you will spend almost a third of your life working. Make it something you enjoy, are proud of, or at least appreciate. PLEASE. For the rest of us that are sick of your bitching...

...QueenB Says