In this month’s blog post, we focus on the intentional mindset required to create value from what could feel like unenjoyable or unimportant work.

Seeking Enjoyment, Avoiding Discomfort

We are simple creatures. We crave what feels good and avoid what doesn’t; addicts to pleasure, avoiders of pain. 

For the vast majority of us, we naturally gravitate toward work, hobbies, and relationships that feel rewarding and enjoyable. If something brings us value, chances are we are eager to return to it. 

The reverse is also true. We avoid things that feel unimportant, meaningless, and most of all, unenjoyable. Worse, we convince ourselves that such things are meaningless – shaping our own attitudes before we even begin. And then, we avoid them. Or worse, we do them with half-hearted intention and effort disrupting the outcome for not just ourselves, but for everyone involved. 

Choosing One’s Own Way

Yet, we have the same power to shift our attitudes and make our own meaning. Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor, psychotherapist, and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, writes:

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

Unenjoyable, Valuable Work

To frame one’s mind with a positive intention can allow us to find value even in the unenjoyable. A project may not excite you, or feel enjoyable, but it can teach you something. A task might not feel important to you, but it could matter to someone on your team.