Our society places great value on employment. With great value comes great pressure for Americans to find and keep jobs. There is also the expectation that jobs should bring you joy. Both desires can sometimes blind you from finding a career that is the right fit; one that will bring you joy so that you’re committed for the long haul. So how do you find a job that will bring you joy? First, we must know what we want to master, then we find a job that allows for the mastery to occur.
Joy can be felt during the first few weeks of a job; when everything and everyone is new. When newness becomes old, and there is no joy left, it is not uncommon for a job seeker to jump from job to job. Finding a job that brings you joy often is the key to finding the right career. When you jump from job to job, the ability to master a skill is hindered.
The ability to master a skill can be incredibly rewarding. When you master a skill, you know that you are great at it, and others know you are great at it. Mastery can bring fulfillment. Since we devote so much of our time to a full-time job, it makes sense that we’d want to feel a sense of mastery in our roles. Although there are many ways to fulfill this desire to master a skill, it’s not strange that many of us want to harvest that fulfillment through our jobs.
To find a job that we want to master, one that we’ll stick with for the long haul because it brings us joy, we must look at our personalities. So often, we force ourselves to try to change our personality to fit into the work culture – this may be a source of misery. For example, if you value comradery over competition, then you will feel miserable in a work culture that promotes competition and individual rewards and incentives. This is just one example of the many ways a job may not be the right fit for your personality.
Instead of trying to change yourself to fit in, because that seldom brings happiness, you must learn all that you can about yourself through deep introspection. Afterwards, you can investigate which roles can be vehicles for you to express your innate strengths and inclinations. Myers Briggs is one of the most popular and insightful personality tests out there. This test is a great way to start your introspection. You will be amazed by how accurate the results will describe your personality type.
Assessing your personality type is one way to explore your personality. Another great way is to ask your friends and family members what they think you will be good at. Although this is a vulnerable thing to do, your loved ones will have a different perspective on your natural gifts and may provide you with insights you wouldn’t come up with by yourself.
To find a job that will bring you joy, you must first understand the importance of mastery. The need to master a skill set is strong and can create confidence and life satisfaction. The tricky part is figuring out what you want to master. To do that, you must do a deep introspection on yourself to understand what makes you happy and what makes you miserable. Once you have a better understanding of that, you can look at the different roles out there that will fulfill what your need for joy to be realized.
