The Lost Art of Taking Pride in Your Work

Steve Pogue, Marketing Operations Director hither at Workzone, recently mentioned to me that he'd gotten some less-than-satisfactory work done on his house.  It got me thinking: man, where has taking pride in your work gone?

Taking pride in your work. Not an piece of cake concept to wrap your head around. Just let'south endeavour.

Let's talk about what information technology is and what it isn't. Let's talk about this nebulous concept and whether or not information technology can be taught. (Spoiler warning: we say aye.) Then permit'southward talk near how you tin start feeling more pride in your piece of work by the end of this week.

What Is Taking Pride In Your Work?

It'due south a subtle mixture of humility and cocky-confidence: a delicate balance that says, "I must prove myself once again and over again through my piece of work,"—yet at the same time, says, "I'm confident that I tin can prove myself again and once more with my work."

It's the sort of job you practice when no one's looking. It'south striving for quality—non considering your customer or your boss or your peers will approximate you lot if you don't, but because that's merely the standard you agree yourself to.

Information technology's responsibility, initiative, and enthusiasm. I retrieve it'southward the difference betwixt the garbage human who'south a shining role model for a Texas 2-year-erstwhile and Peter from the movie Office Infinite, the poster child for the average, disenchanted function worker.

I think—no matter your salary or your educational background—it'southward what dictates whether or not you love your job or hate it. And I think it usually correlates almost exactly with whether or not you encounter yourself as an active agent of change in your career or a passive, powerless spectator.

What Taking Pride In Your Work Isn't

The professional who doesn't take pride in his piece of work is the one who moans about "the daily grind" and feels that life begins and ends on the weekends.

He'll turn in lackluster work just because it'southward due on his boss's desk by the end of the day. Or worse—he'll miss the deadline completely.

He may claim he's "doing his best" but he won't pay any listen to the goals or plans or stats virtually his piece of work that would pigment him a real picture.

The professional who doesn't have pride in his work isn't a wholesome influence on his colleagues, his peers, his spouse, or his kids.

He'southward a real bummer. Simply I retrieve we tin turn him and his career around. I call back nosotros can teach him to take pride in his work.

Where Did Taking Pride in Your Work Go?

Here's my theory: as technology advances—as more of our outputs are in digital class rather than concrete; as we're sucked into larger and larger corporations that are and then large they're piece of cake to feel alienated from; as nosotros earn salaries that largely depend non on our output but on the time we spend at the part each day—we forget what our work even looks like.

We tin't experience the tangibleness of our deliverables in our hands. We forget that our output even matters. So we can't take pride in it because nosotros've lost sight of what information technology is.

Google "lost art of taking pride in work" and you'll notice interesting articles including:
a written report on Home Depot and the decline of craftsmanship; a narrative on a potential revival in letter of the alphabet writing; and post by a blogger who, just like me, thinks the root of the problem is having lost bear upon with the final production.

Maybe he's correct. Maybe—just similar adroitness and letter writing—taking pride in your work is a lost fine art and technology is to blame. The Industrial Revolution, the assembly line, the age of the internet, our now at present now culture are to blame.

Simply aren't we to blame, too? I say then, and I say that—no affair who or what is to blame—we can take things into our own easily and revive the lost fine art of taking pride in your work.

Can Taking Pride In Your Piece of work Be Taught?

Here'due south why you might say no.

1. You tin can't teach taking pride in your work because it'southward an innate trait. Y'all either intendance…or you don't.
2. Yous can't teach taking pride in your work considering our digital age has left u.s.a. too out of touch with our oft abstract output.
3. You lot tin't teach taking pride in your work because in that location's no such thing—you either do your chore or y'all don't.
4. Yous can't teach taking pride in your work because it'south as well cloudy a concept to put into actionable steps.

Hither's why we say yes.

1. You tin can e'er acquire to adopt meliorate behaviors and a more than productive mindset.
2. Our digital age may make keeping in touch with the tangible good that results from your work a bit more difficult, but it doesn't arrive incommunicable.
3. Tell that to Steve, Workzone's marketing manager, whose hardwood floors may accept been "done," but weren't washed quite right.
4. What kind of mental attitude is that? Even if there's some truth to it, we're damn well inclined to try.

What if our professional started making small changes to his work habits, changes that built up to huge differences over time?

What if he started—instead of leaving early when he "finished his work" for the day—stayed until 5, or even 5:fifteen, to prepare for the side by side solar day? Check out this guide to leaving work on time after a super productive day.

What if—when his boss left for vacation—instead of breathing a sigh of relief, he saw it equally an opportunity to prove he can work hard without direct supervision?

What if these changes, over time, made our professional realize he'due south actually skillful at his job, and that he can take pride in his work?

We'd give him a pat on the back, indeed.

How to Take Pride in Your Work: three Building Blocks

Here'south what we won't tell you lot: that taking pride in your work is but attainable past some feel-good not-and then-actionable means that mostly requires "positive thinking" and "doing your all-time" and "doing it with a grin."

Considering that's lame. And you can't actually practice whatsoever of those today—right now, like equally actual steps.

Here's what we exercise suggest: starting with these three simple (merely not always piece of cake) actionable steps that all come down to putting yourself back in touch with the final production and your office in making it happen.

1. Starting time with Why

Inject pregnant back into your work by actually thinking well-nigh why yous're doing information technology. Realize that your customers, your boss, your family, all need you lot to do this chore, and that the shine menstruation of things at your company depend on it.

Example: Our professional might not love having a chat with i of his squad members about being late to piece of work every day, but he'southward got to do it if he's going to have pride in his work. Why? He realizes that:

• his supervisor has entrusted him with supervising others within the company and needs him to step up and be a strong leader;
• this employee needs him to give her a wake up call about her lateness and lackadaisical attitude towards work before she'due south fired for information technology; and
• his family is counting on him to do a great job at work so he tin go along to provide for them.

When in doubt, go back to the Why. Each task has a purpose—remind yourself of it.

Your actionable step for this calendar week? Every time you're dreading doing a task, finish for a moment and dig a bit deeper into why yous're doing it. Appreciate this small chore as a part of the whole.

2. Wake Up Early

Hither's a more than general tip about your attitude towards life and your life's work: hitting the snooze button a million times and contesting your torso to get out of bed every morning is non the bulletin you desire to transport to the Universe, God, the quantum field, or any else constitutes the whole shebang in your life.

Waking upwardly early on signals to your hidden that you're excited almost life, excited about your work, and that you're giving yourself enough of time to alive your purpose.

Example: When our professional wakes up early, he has time to take intendance of himself before he starts his work day. He meditates, he might pray; he works out and gets in a good breakfast; he might fifty-fifty get to say bye to the kids before he leaves. He'south treating himself well, which y'all better believe affects how well he'll perform in the workplace.

Your actionable step for this week? Wake up early on tomorrow. Try Apple tree's built in wake up features, a regular alarm clock or Kiwake, a lovely alarm clock app that won't brand you want to throw your phone across the room.

And one time you lot've conquered that? Start working on your perfect morning routine.

3. Take Responsibility

What does a Navy SEAL practise when facing failure? He sure as hell doesn't blame it on his team, a lack of information, or lack of resources.

He takes responsibleness for his actions and bucks up. That's what best-selling author—too retired Navy-SEAL—Jocko Willink talks about in his volume Farthermost Ownership.

Accept responsibility for your team'southward actions. Fail bravely. Because, I hope you: employers would much rather yous accept responsibility for your team and their shortcomings than point your finger in every other direction. Try it out and you lot'll enjoy greater senses of maturity and personal growth because of information technology.

Your actionable step for this week? Listen to Tim Ferriss's podcast interview of Jocko Willink and let his ideas on farthermost ownership inspire y'all. Go comfy, because it'southward a 2 and a half hour listen.

Still hungry? Good. Read his volume side by side.

I Step at a Time

I do my New Years Resolutions a scrap differently. I selection most 6 things to accomplish for the year and focus on but one of them at a time, ii months at a time. Because I similar staying sane.

Yous probably like staying sane, as well, so don't worry if you're non acquisition everything all at once by the end of this week. Focus on these iii small tasks for at present. Build on that, and you lot'll bask a genuine pride in your work in no time.

So, are we nuts, or is this refuse in people taking pride in their work a existent matter? It'due south not merely us, right?

Either way, nosotros'd love to know: how do you lot take pride in your piece of work?

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Source: https://www.workzone.com/blog/the-lost-art-of-taking-pride-in-your-work/

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