"Choose a profession that you love and you don't have to work a day" Confucius is said to have said a few thousand years ago. A wisdom that more and more people want to join, but do not know exactly how to do it now, with unconditional job love. Above all, the question arises: "How do I find this dream?"
There is no lasting happiness – not even on the job
First of all: With love for the job it is like with love for a person. The sky doesn't hang full of violins around the clock. Sometimes Schatzi is the dream prince and sometimes Darth Vader. Still, we love sweetheart. With all corners, edges and quirks, even if they drive us crazy from time to time. It's basically the same with our job. It also has corners, edges and quirks that drive us crazy from time to time. The question is: what predominates? The love of what we do? Or the daily madness that is simply unbearable?
In a professional context, we feel that the core is basically okay. We define the core as the activity itself, the job description. For example, we are a teacher. We fell in love with this core and are inspired to take off. The stupid thing about it: now reality intervenes. Because in many companies and work environments, it no longer seems to be the core of our activity. There are colleagues who, well, let's say, are not the brightest candles on the candlestick. Other colleagues are simply unappealing or even underhanded. And the boss only has her own career in mind. The workplace is a disaster and for that we have to sit in the crowded train for an hour and a half or stand in a traffic jam. That's not how we imagined it!
We pay attention to the wrong criteria
And this is exactly where a shoe comes from: Our imagination and reality don't want to fit together. If you think of one or the other dream prince who was more like Bundy in everyday life than Prince Charming, you are not wrong. Everyday life and dream ideas often have little to do with each other. We often choose our job based on the wrong criteria: namely by job description (as we imagine it), company (the better the reputation of the company, the better), salary and, depending on how close we are to home, also by way of work or . Location. It sounds very logical at first.
We quit a job for completely different reasons. A stupid boss and stupid colleagues are regularly at the top of the various hit lists of reasons for termination. Too much overtime and pressure are usually added. Amazingly, this has nothing to do with the job description itself.
What we can learn from Klofrau Halina
I always remember the story of Halina. In my youth, Halina worked in the trendy disco "Madhouse" in Hamburg. Not as a DJ or at the bar, Halina was a toilet woman. And if you have the tile department of night clubs in mind, you know that this is not the best place to work under the sun. But it was different with Halina. All regulars always went to Halina first. There you met, exchanged the latest gossip and only then did you plunge into the fray. Halina had hairspray, deodorant, condoms … everything you need for a successful disco evening. And whoever gave her a tip got a colalolli. There were 10 different motifs on the lollies. Anyone who had all the motifs together received a bottle of crime sparkling wine, which of course was decapitated on site. In other words: there was always something going on in the toilet. It was also super clean there. Of course, everyone behaved in an exemplary manner, and those who didn't did so were quickly instructed by the regular guests. Halina did all of this on her own initiative. The boss supported her, but didn't dictate it.
Why am I telling this story? Because it's not about the job picture, it's about what we make of it and why we do it. Halina loved people. That was her "why". That is why she turned a snappy disco into a place that was much more than a small town. As a toilet woman, Halina has received more recognition and appreciation than many well-trained academics receive in their professions …
A real dream job consists of the following components: a good boss with a nice team and what you do with your tasks. The icing on the cake and cherry are when you enjoy the job itself and it is also well paid. We often choose our job for icing and cherry. Even if it's tasty, we won't get enough of it.