We are often exhorted to “Find what you love and do it”. Less often do we hear “Love what you do when you’re in it”, meaning learning to love your job, whatever it is! Some of you might know the story of the bird that failed to fly to warmer climes for the winter. Shivering in the cold, the bird could not grasp the branch it was perched on any more, and fell to the ground. Waiting for the icy cold to take its last breath, the bird was suddenly crapped on by a passing cow. Just as the bird was thinking that nothing worse could happen, it suddenly discovered that the “cow pie” it was in was actually warming up its near-dead body and life was returning! Feeling really good, the bird started to sing. A passing cat heard the singing, dug the bird out of the “cow pie” and promptly ate it. Moral of the story? “When you’re warm and happy in a pile of crap, keep your mouth shut”.

While this may not sound like a very nice story and there are of course other interpretations for it, it does tell us that we never should quit as long as there is still life in us, and to always be aware of our surroundings, or what could have been for our good might actually turn out to be for our detriment.

Whether you love your job or not does not depend on what job you are doing. It depends on  whether you are happy as a person. Happy people are happy whether rich or poor. In fact, there seems to be a higher proportion of poor people being happy than rich people, which should give us pause to reflect. So, how do you become a happy person?

A young girl was working as a dishwasher in a hotel restaurant somewhere on the outskirts of town. As she washed the dishes in the often painfully-cold water, she would sing about being a light in her own small corner. The kitchen staff soon began to be cheered up by this little girl, so much so that the waiters started to notice. The waiters started to drop in to chat a little with the little girl, and left whistling. Soon, the customers noticed how unusually cheerful the waiters were, and commented on that. “Oh’, said the waiters, “It’s the little girl washing dishes and singing such cheerful songs to herself that makes us happy”. The customers talked about that to other customers, and soon the whole town was talking about the cheerful little dishwasher girl, and getting happy as a result. And the little dishwasher girl went on washing dishes and singing cheerfully in ignorant bliss. Can we do something in similar fashion?

A USAF pilot was taken prisoner in North Vietnam. He spent a few years in prison. He survived by mentally improving his golf game, and by building different houses brick by brick, nail by nail. He knew every part of five houses by the end of his prison experience, and he kept himself mentally sound by focusing on positive and constructive thoughts.

So, you didn’t manage to find what you love? Well, start loving what you do, and you’ll find better things coming down the road. At the very least, you’ll be making yourself happy. After all, no one can make you sad without your consent!