How to Love Your Job

It’s that time again. The alarm goes off — you struggle to open your eyes thinking “not again.” You roll yourself out of bed and cherish every moment at home before starting the daily grind.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Short of putting in your notice, is there anything you can do to change that early morning dread? Absolutely. It all starts with you. If you’re ready to turn the job you hate into the job you love, keep reading!

Recognize That Hating Your Job Is a Choice

There may be aspects of your job that you strongly dislike. However, hating anything takes energy. That means that if you spend every day hating your job, you’re using effort to do so—you’re making a choice. The first step toward making a difference is to recognize that you may need to change your own perspective in order to love what you do.

Identify Positives

No one wants to be around someone who’s negative all the time. If you’ve found yourself in this rut at work, it’s time to look for a few positives. What are some perks that you look forward to? Are there co-workers that you enjoy spending time with? What about the job itself — what are some responsibilities that you take pride in? Identifying positives will help you maintain a more positive outlook, removing some of the unpleasantness of your position.

Be Honest

Once you’ve found a few positive things to focus on, it may be time to talk to your boss or manager about your current state of mind. However, this is not an opportunity to tear apart the company or to vent nonstop about everything that’s wrong with your working environment — this will likely be taken poorly. Instead, start by talking about the positives you’ve started to identify. Then, open up in a constructive way.

Share what’s been bothering you, and how you’ve been feeling. Your boss will likely appreciate your candidness and be willing to work with you. Because the cost of replacing an employee is up to 213% of that employee’s salary, your boss may be open to discussing ways to improve your position. Go into the meeting with an open mind and be clear about its purpose. If you’re hoping to negotiate different hours, working from home or something else, be honest. Remember, it’s not a time to vent without reason.

Read next: How Do You Actually Land Your Dream Job?

Team Up

Think about what you’re good at and what your true strengths are. If you’re unsure, consider taking an aptitude or strengths test to find out where you’re likely to do best. When you’re good at something, you will probably enjoy it more than a task you struggle with.

After you’ve figured out what you do best, think about what areas of your job fall outside of that realm. That may be what you dislike doing each day. Try to find a co-worker with opposite strengths and offer to take on some of his or her tasks in an exchange. This may not be possible in all working environments, but it’s worth giving a try.

Focus on Your Why

So often, we get pulled into the “I don’t even know why I’m doing this” mentality, especially at work. We lose track of our goals and get stuck in the daily grind. When this happens, a job starts to feel more like a chore.

Why do you do what you do? Is it to earn money to start a family or to buy a new house? Is it to gain experience in a certain area to reach a bigger goal in the future? Does it help to pay for education for a degree to do something else? Make a list of why you do what you do and post it on your mirror. Make it the first and last thing you focus on each day to improve your attitude.

Turning a job you hate into a job you love starts with you. It won’t happen overnight, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen at all. Focus on the action steps above and act today to save your sanity in the long run.

This article originally appeared on Live in the Grey

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