A recent Gallup Poll suggests that only 28% of workers feel ‘engaged’ with their job. How sad to think of the rest of those people toiling their lives away at something they hate, dreaming of winning the lottery, which is likely never going to happen.  If only they understood that a full 40% of our happiness is within our control according to positive psychologists. (I’d argue that number is ever higher!) Imagine getting up for work every day, and actually looking forward to it. Surprisingly, this probably doesn’t involve getting a new job, but rather getting to the root of what it is that makes you really feel happy and satisfied.  Acknowledging what it is that floats your boat and recognizing where it already exists in your career is going to make your workdays feel way more fun and interesting!

That’s not to say that you are going to love everything that comes with your job description.  After all, a painter still has to clean their brushes, a dancer’s toes are going to bleed from hours of rehearsals and an avid baker still has to clean the kitchen. But if you can find an emotional connection to what you do, you’ll feel more energized about your job even though sometimes what you have to do can feel stressful or tedious. So how do you find your passion?

First let’s talk about what passion for work is not.

• Passion is not talent
• Passion is not knowing a lot about what you do
• Passion is not having a lot of experience, or being considered an expert in your field
• Passion is not the skill you’ve gotten really good at in your current job

Passion IS about the enthusiasm you have for something. It’s what gets you excited when you talk about it, and can usually be done in any number of industries and companies. I have a passion for making people’s everyday lives happier, livelier…and I hope a bit better. For other folks it may be helping those in need, contributing to ideas and new concepts or having the freedom to be creative, whatever you feel passionate about comes from within, is as individual as you are and is not tied into any particular job.

Try these tips to ramp up your work-passion connection:

Put on your rose colored glasses – Sure seeing the glass half-full isn’t going to work all the time. But, if you get into the habit of always looking for the silver lining in any given situation and seeing opportunities for improvement in life’s inevitable screw-ups, you’ll feel a lot better about obstacles on the road to success when they appear.

Give the boss a break – Truly extraordinary bosses are pretty rare. Recognize that most bosses are simply doing the best they can, with what they have to offer. Most managers know they need improvement in at least some areas, for all you know they may be working on it.  Just like all of us, your boss is a work in progress. By cutting your boss some slack, you’ll feel less like what they do affects your own happiness and that’s pretty powerful stuff.

Take time out to relax and de-stress – No matter how happy you are on the job it is important to take time every day to decompress and rejuvenate yourself so you don’t burn out. Always take your scheduled lunch break at work, stretch for a minute and take a few deep breathes, get together with friends, don’t underestimate the power of laughing, pick up a regular exercise habit, garden, play the guitar or meditate. The important thing is to find something you enjoy doing and participate regularly.