It's an incredibly simple but powerful concept: follow your heart and good things will follow.  But as we all know, that's not easy.  This is why not all of us (or even not many of us) are working in a position, or even a field, that we genuinely love.  And while some people are in a position where they can do something truly bold and change their company, their role, or even their career, that's not an option available to many others.  So does this mean they are out of luck?

No, they certainly aren't, and this leads us to the real lesson of this post, which is true whether we are working in our "best" career or not: actively search out the things, large and small, that do make you happy in what you are doing.  They are often not immediately obvious.  Sometimes there are some big negatives that tend to obscure our view, so we have to shift our focus away from them to gain perspective.

Try this now.  Start by making a list of all the things from the large (supportive coworkers) to the small (the free coffee in the break room is actually pretty good) that you find positive in your job. Keep this list somewhere you will see it for the next week and add to it whenever you think of something.  Then once the week is up...don't stop.  Keep adding to this list on an ongoing basis, and look back at it whenever you're finding it hard to focus on the best aspects of what you do. 

Click here to access a printable PDF version of the graphic above.