This Is Why You Think You Hate Your Job

 

You don’t necessarily hate your job, you hate how it makes you feel. That moment when you feel the stress, the burnout or the dread that comes even before you start . That feeling? It’s not from the job itself, it may be from the way you’re doing it. 

If you hate what you do, it’s probably not for you. But if you love it, but still find yourself dreading it, then something’s wrong. 

Let me show you how I discovered this in my own work.

I love writing about personal development and growth. But somehow, the same writing I claimed to love became exhausting. I dreaded the idea of writing and often wondered why it was that way. How can I say I love writing, but when it’s time to write, I get tired? I thought I was just lazy, but it wasn’t laziness. I realized I was simply doing things the wrong way. 

Here are two things I realized I was doing wrong:

Passion Needs Freedom, Not Constraints. 

I had a client who required each article I wrote for him to be exactly 1000 words, no more, no less. Now, that’s not too much, and was pretty reasonable. But not every topic needs so much detail. Some ideas are best expressed in 500 words, while others might need 1,500. 

The word count was too rigid for me. It made writing exhausting for me, and it became less exciting. I would find myself cutting down ideas or adding extra words just to hit the mark. It drained the joy out of the process. I even started questioning whether writing was really for me. 

But everything changed when the client gave me creative freedom. I realized that I didn’t hate writing, nor was I lazy; I just hated the way I was writing.

Consistency Without Value Is Noise.  

I used to post on LinkedIn every day. It was tiring, but I had to continue anyway. I believed that consistency pays off. But here’s the truth: consistency without value doesn’t.  

Posting daily became a routine. I was showing up whether or not I had something meaningful to say. Again, I dreaded it. Eventually, I switched to posting three times a week. That was when I started to feel more productive and fell in love with what I do. That little change made a huge difference. 

You can love what you do, but the process might make you hate it or even abandon it. If you're passionate about your craft, but somehow you find yourself dreading the same thing you claim to love, then the problem is most likely from the process. Try reflecting on what’s making you hate that job. Ask yourself: Is it the work, or is it the way I’m doing it?

Once you’ve identified the problem, try changing direction. Don’t be quick to blame yourself. Take a closer look at your approach; that may be where the issue lies. Changing the way you work might reignite the love you thought you lost.