We’re only hours away from 2013! If you want to make a lasting positive change in the way you feel about your livelihood; Skip that New Year’s resolution you were going to make about making better connections with your customers, having more patience with a cranky co-worker or even earning more money this year than last. Instead think back and remember the times you felt really great about your job. Why? Because New-Year’s resolutions rarely work, by mid-February most of them are a distant memory-one that leaves you feeling as if you’ve failed. If you want to make long-term changes toward building a happier work life you’ll need to let go of your old ways of thinking and reacting (easier said than done!) and really commit yourself to seeing the hours you spend on the job in a new light. When you do amazing things can happen and positive changes can actually occur.

The thing is New Year’s resolutions often focus on our little pet hates. This seems to be especially true when we are looking at our work-life. We concentrate on all the parts of our jobs that we don’t like or want to change while ignoring the aspects of our work that we really enjoy. What a negative way to start out the new-year! Especially when you consider that most people are looking to make positive changes that will better their lives. So why not begin creating the work life you want by focusing on the positives you already have and building on that energy? And how can you build on the positives if you never take the time to recognize what they are?

Spend some time this week thinking about what you love about your job, even if it’s something no one else appreciates. Maybe it’s that your co-workers are hilarious or that your desk faces a window and you can see outside. Perhaps it is seeing regular customers and knowing you are a constant in their life. The list will be different for everyone. I just want you to notice how you feel when you are thinking about the elements of your job that you appreciate. Next week we’ll talk more about how to bring more of these feelings into your everyday workday.