Is there such a thing as a perfect job?

I doubt it.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, you’re more than likely to come up against the usual workplace woes.

I talk of headaches large & small like bureaucracy, office politics, nonsensical processes, last minute deadlines, annoying colleagues who don’t listen to what you have to say, stressful commutes, unexpected change & chaos, dodgy tech, projects which feel like flogging a dead horse, feedback which isn’t balanced or fair, unrealistic expectations and colleagues saying one thing, then doing another.

It’s par for the course.

Show me a job which doesn’t have at least one of these and I’ll show you Pinocchio staring straight back at me!

So in a working world where a lot of these gripes are givens and where we have no option but to trundle along in the face of a less than perfect setup, what’s the best way to deal with this?

Well, get this:

I’d argue you don’t want to “deal with this” at all.

Simply put:

The way to cure your frustrations about how things are is not by convincing yourself that things should be different.

In my book, that’s just a path to more frustration.

This might sound defeatist.  But I’m not suggesting putting your feet up or passively resign yourself to your fate.

Not at all.

What I’m saying is this:

Once you find peace with how things are, it opens you up to embracing, flowing with and leaning into all those bothers & bugbears.  And thriving at work despite them.

And that’s not all.

Because if you’re inclined to sally forth and try to influence a change at work, you’ll now be doing it from a solid, positive place and not from a place of striving to make a point or put the working world to rights.

If you battle with work, work will be a battle. 

If you flow with work instead, work will flow.

Fact is, this mindset shift has been one of the most freeing I’ve ever made.

I spent years of my working life up in my head, having thoughts like “this is absurd” or “it shouldn’t be this way”.

But I don't repeatedly bang my head against brick walls like these when I’m in the office now.

This hasn’t just released a bunch of time & energy, but I’ve also gone from being frustrated with all the crumby parts of working life to being at peace with them. 

And it’s so much more satisfying & enjoyable being at work this way.

Perhaps you think a lighter, more relaxed attitude at work isn’t important.  Maybe you’re worried how your colleagues would view this or you wonder if being happier at work means you’ll lose your motivation or your “edge”.

All I can say is this:

I’ve found that being more cheery, creative and inspired in the office doesn’t just smooth the path when working with other colleagues but it’s where my “edge” comes from.

It comes from being at ease with whatever challenges cross my desk, having ideas which no-one else has and not treating my work with a heaviness & gravity which only gets in the way.

Anyway, enough for now.

I’ll be sharing much more about how anyone can turn a less than perfect job into a source of happiness, calm and fulfilment in my new group coaching programme, Thrive at Work.

If this catches your eye, you can check out all the details in this Google Doc.

That’s all for today.

 - Tom