What type of work do you reasonably like?

Finding work that you love to do is hard, and it causes many people no end of anxiety.

But what’s the popular solution espoused by many gurus out thre? Some variation of:

What can you simply not not do? Do that.

or…

What would you do even if you weren’t paid? Do that.

One of the problems with this approach is that it pre-supposes you will love the work from the start.

The reality is, everything is hard or unpleasant some of the time. And, what if, like most people, you don’t have an answer to that question, let alone an answer that is suitably valuable to the market?

Maybe a better starting question is: What things are valuable to society that you don’t hate to do?

Let’s recall a couple truths about finding meaning and fulfillment in our work:

• Meaning in careers is complex and evolving. Much of it comes from positive feedback and gratitude of others for what you create, not simply the act of creation.
• Meaning in careers also comes from from working towards mastery, which comes with time. It’s also a gratifying feeling to be a sought after expert – regardless of how niche or unsexy the area of expertise may be.

Unless you’re in the rare group of people (maybe 2-3%) that feel a singular passionate calling, stop trying to find something you love from the start. Instead, start by finding  work that you get on with pretty well and that’s also valuable.

What are some steps you can take today?

Consider your time in college or high-school, and/or wherever you are now. What type of work do you find it easy to keep going on, once you had started and you have some momentum? It’s important to pre-suppose that you’ve already started and you already have momentum. That’s because generally, the starting segment of any creative act is uncomfortable. Novelists who love to write still have trouble sitting down to write. This isn’t about sunshine, rainbows, and finding “that work you just can’t not do.” Let’s start with finding the work that, once you conquer the resistance to getting started, is actually not too bad, and you’re pretty good at it.

What do you not hate to do and you’re pretty good at? Make a list. Next, score that list in terms of what’s valuable to the market. What are the top 2-3 things on there? Is it possible to combine them into a rare and valuable mix that is also personal to you? If you can achieve this combination, you’ll be much more fulfilled in your work, and chances are, very well rewarded financially.

Stop searching for things you think you need to immediately love from the start. You will be searching your whole life if that’s your attitude. What’s a combination of things that you’re pretty good at, are valuable, and you don’t hate doing?

That combination might just be your next business venture or career path.

And, as you master it, you might even come to love it eventually.