How many people do you know that truly enjoy their job? Who can you think of that looks forward to Monday? You may be laughing to yourself because there aren’t a lot people who look forward to Mondays. This is because most people are not passionate about what they are doing, the environment they are in, or the people they work with. This doesn’t have to be the case for you! Yes, every person needs to survive and make a living. But if you want more than just that, then this is the post for you. Here are some techniques to move toward a better life.

Eliminate What You Hate

I know someone who used to work for a tax firm. He worked long days and nights during tax season. He usually wouldn’t even go home because it was too far to come back so early and he needed sleep, so he would stay at a hotel. This executive was paid very well and had great benefits but he just didn’t enjoy what he was doing. He didn’t get to spend a lot of time with his family and there wasn’t a lot of flexibility in his schedule. After getting headaches frequently he decided to go to the doctor, it turned out he had a benign brain tumor. He was forced to stop working and to have surgery. After the surgery and time to heal, he was cleared to go back to work. But after this life changing incident he decided he wanted to eliminate all things he hated in his life. He started with quitting his job.

The point is that you shouldn’t wait until a medical emergency to see that you are suffering. Look at the specific things you want change in your life and make small steps to changing it daily. You have to always keep moving to get to your goal.

Be Patient With Your Passion

Now you may be thinking, that is easier said than done. Well sure it is, but nothing is life worth having is easy. The next thought may be, “I don’t know what would make me enjoy my job every day.” That’s ok, it takes some people many years before they figure out what makes them excited to work. A fun way to start to explore this within yourself is to be aware of who’s jobs you are envious of. Make a list of the people that make you feel this way and see what they have in common. Typically, these are some things you too would like to be doing every day.

Another way to think of what you are passionate about is to visualize your ideal morning. Upon waking up and getting out of bed, what kind of clothing are you putting on? Where are you going? What are you doing that you are looking forward to? Visualizing what you want can simply point you to what you may already know.

Lastly, keep in mind that this process takes time and there is no right way of going about it. Vera Wang, a famous fashion designer, didn’t start designing until she was 40 years old. She had already done many things up until that point but wanted to try something different. You can too.

Try New Things

To really understand what you love to do, you must try new things. This requires some effort on your part. You can get a new hobby, try a dance class, enroll at a college for cooking, whatever it is you may enjoy doing or have thought about. It is found that people with numerous skills have been more successful over all. Oliver Emberton, a start-up founder, shares that, “Steve Jobs was not the world’s greatest engineer, salesperson, designer or businessman. But he was uniquely good enough at all of these things, and wove them together into something far greater.” To create a business or master a craft it usually takes a combination of skillsets to really succeed.

Also when trying new things, ask people about their experiences with that trade. The more you talk to people the more you can understand if it may be something right for you too. The concept I want you to get out of all of this is that life is short and you should enjoy what you do. So, I dare you to get out there and mix it up, eliminate what you hate, be patient with your passion, and try new things. I dare you to love your job!

Denise Berry, Army Veteran