Here’s a curious insight I had recently:

A few weeks ago, career coach and LinkedIn Top Voice Mark Crossfield interviewed me for his podcast Your Bravo Career.

Mark called the episode The Inner Path to Career Fulfilment

On the podcast we spoke about how I’ve gone from feeling trapped in my job and bearing an almighty grudge against the 9 to 5 to having fun at work and even looking forward to going into the office each day.

As Mark and I chatted away, I heard myself say this:

I think I take myself less seriously than I used to. I think I take my job less seriously than I used to too. 

And over the last couple of weeks I’ve been wondering:

Why do I take work less seriously nowadays?  And is this a good thing?

I mean, it’s clear to me that I do.

In the last 6 months I’ve released the mental, emotional & even physical grip I had on my work and which my work used to have on me. 

I feel more at ease behind my desk than I ever have. 

And I think this shift has been at least partly down to seeing the difference between doing serious work and doing serious work seriously.

I do serious work every day. I work for one of the biggest banks in the UK in a team that generates £100m’s of annual revenue and has a direct, tangible impact on businesses, communities & housing all across the country.

But this doesn’t mean I need to take my work seriously when I do it. 

Before the literal Larry’s & Linda’s sound the alarm (there are always some), I’m not talking about doing work flippantly or washing my hands of it all.  I’m also not saying I don't take pride in my work or that a more serious attitude might not be called for sometimes.

What I’m saying is my serious job and a serious attitude about my serious job aren’t intrinsically bound together.

It’s possible to separate the two.

In fact, it’s not just possible.  A lot of the time it’s preferable.

When I’m not shovelling a load of meaning, weight & significance onto my work, gripping my work tightly, clenching my jaw & tensing my muscles but instead allowing a lightness & even a playfulness to come though me, I’m more in touch with my own instincts, creativity and clarity.

And these are what lead to doing a good job.

So it’s a win-win.  Not only do I feel better about my work but I do better work too.

Simply put:

The best way to do serious work is by not taking that work seriously.

Yes, I know this is a contradiction.  But seeing through this contradiction is where the insight lies.

All of which takes me back to where I started and the podcast episode with Mark.

If you want to find more fun, flow or fulfilment at work, you don’t need to change your career or quit your job.  Even if you have a deep-seated doubt you've chosen the wrong career path, your job isn’t meaningful or you’re not using your real talents at work.

I’m living proof of this.

It’s changing your relationship with your job which makes the difference.

Not by putting a glossy spin on things in a “think positively” kind of way.  

But in a “this is how life actually works” kind of way.

If you’d like to hear Mark and I chewing the fat about these topics:

https://www.bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast-091

Or shimmy on over to your favourite podcast provider and search for Your Bravo Career.

That’s all for today.

 - Tom