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How I Found Meaning In A Soul-Sucking Job

Getting through difficult days without losing your soul

It’s 6 PM on a Sunday, and I am already dreading the day ahead.

All I can think about is making it to the end of the day with my heart and mind intact. It will take grit and a few useful tricks: I have got to find meaning in my work.

I know I should be grateful I have a job. With the economy always in a state of flux and an election around the corner, now is not the time to be all “take this job and shove it.” I should suck it up and do the work they pay me to do. No complaining. But that doesn’t feel good or meaningful.

Tomorrow is Monday. I hate Mondays. Mondays are when I have my one-on-one with my boss. It’s an hour-long acid bath of criticism and micro-managing every little thing I do. I feel like I need a shower afterward.

Then there are those moments, beautiful and heartwarming when I look at my unfulfilling work and ask, “what if I could turn it into something meaningful instead?”

I start imagining what a difference I could make if my 10 hours of shitty work were spent in a meaningful way instead. Oh, how good would that feel?

Then reality sets in. I could be in this for a long haul ― I must find some redeeming value, some minuscule meaning in this soul-sucking job.

Here are five things I turn to every day to cultivate meaning in a soul-sucking job

1. Gratitude: Find gratitude in difficult times

“I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet.” ― Confucius

Yes, these are challenging times. There is little that makes me happy or excited about my work. But there is also much to be grateful for.

When most people think of gratitude, they relate it to things they like. They might be grateful for their partner, their children, or the time they spend with friends. It is easy to be thankful for good health when you are healthy, or abundance when you make enough money. It’s much harder when it is something you don’t want, like a crappy job.

“Just like acknowledging all the amazing things you are thankful for in your life, there can also be a great deal of insight and healing available when you can feel gratitude in your hardest moments.” — Tris Thorp for The Chopra Center

When I feel my chest clenching in anxiety, I take a moment to practice gratitude. I take a deep breath, let it out, then think to myself, “thank you for this challenging work ― for it makes me a better person. Thank you for this difficult person ― for allowing me to see the good in her. Thank you for my good-paying job.”

These simple moments of gratitude, repeated for a few times a day, help me to refocus my energy on something positive. In a few seconds, I go from feeling hopeless to feeling hopeful. After all, gratitude is the new Prozac.

2. Evolve: Now is the best time to become a better version of you

“Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves.” ― Swami Vivekananda

In relationships, they say that if you leave for someone else, you take your problems with you. The same is true for jobs. Anything you hate doing in your current position will likely follow you to the next one. Anything you are bad at in your current job will still be bad in your next one.

Why not using this time to improve in a few areas I know could use some work? Do I want to struggle with the same weaknesses in a new job?

I can honestly say there are several areas of my work that have improved in the past few months. I am more organized and focused. I no longer haphazardly work through the day just doing whatever I want to work on at the moment. Now I plan out based on priorities, doing the highest value work first when I am at my best. I leave the low-value work for later when I am in coast mode.

I don’t want to limit my abilities to what others want from me. I want to develop the strengths needed to serve profoundly in meaningful ways. I want to become the best version of myself. I want to live life fully alive and profoundly meaningful, in service to the world.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman

3. Become Antifragile: Obstacles make you stronger

“Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” ― Joshua Marine

This quote is my go-to battle cry for most things in life, and so it is with my job. I find it very empowering to look at the difficult parts of life as an obstacle course. Every challenge, or what some people call ‘problems,’ is an opportunity to grow.

The way I see it, there are three kinds of obstacles

1. Obstacles that life throws at you, like overcoming a significant health issue, recovering from addiction, or rebuilding your life after a divorce — these obstacles are more about survival and renewal.
2. Obstacles you seek out, like taking on something new without the assurance you have what it takes ― these are about getting out of your comfort zone. They are great for general improvement.
3. Obstacles in things unwanted; these are about changing your perception. When you find yourself in a challenging situation you do not want to be in, you can either choose to suffer through until it passes, or you can lean-in and choose to grow from it.

When it comes to my soul-sucking job, I know there are opportunities to change my perception in favor of growth. I know I have a choice, lots of them. Every day I am faced with opportunities to turn unwanted work or engagements into obstacles for growth.

Does someone criticize my work? It’s an obstacle to peace. I can choose to practice forgiveness and the subtle art of not giving a shit what others think. It’s truly liberating.

Anxious about a deadline? It’s an obstacle to mindfulness. I practice getting out in front of it by anticipating the timeline and getting an early start. Sometimes obstacles provide opportunities to learn new strategies.

No matter what challenges my work throws at me, I can find a way to lean in and make it an opportunity to improve.

You can find ways to love the obstacles in your life.

4. Service: Focus on who you are helping

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” ― Charles Dickens

I may hate my job, but what if my work was somehow helping someone else? Is it possible that what I do could provide meaning in someone else’s life? I had to find out.

I decided to make a list of everyone who I interact with or who use the outcome of my work. I would exclude my overcritical, never satisfied bosses, and just focus on those who have no power over me at all. The list would be limited to those whose job depends on what I do.

I immediately thought of Amy. Without my training and guidance, her new system implementation would struggle. She needed to get as many people using her new system so she could show her boss that it was worth the companies investment. Focusing on her success gave my work new meaning.

The more I practiced connecting my work to the people it touched, the more I found meaning in it. It was still the same crappy work, but because I could see who it impacted, the meaning behind my work suddenly changed.

In work or life, seeking purpose in helping others leads to more exceptional well being.

5. Leverage: Let your current struggling empower you to create something better

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.” ― Jeff Olson

This practice is a big one for me. I am super pumped and motivated to create a new career opportunity for myself. It is one thing to practice finding meaning in a difficult job, but it doesn’t have to be forever. Everything I do to get through each day moves me closer to something much better.

But it’s challenging to find creative energy after a ten work hour day. Weekends are supposed to be for relaxation and recreation. It would take superhuman strength and a willingness to give up free time to work on my passion projects. Luckily my daily suffering keeps me motivated.

As I write this, I am temporarily interrupted by my kids asking if I want to watch a movie; “Sorry, I can’t. I need to finish this article”. Privately I tell myself, “soon I will have plenty of time to enjoy more quality time with them. But for now, I must make the sacrifice necessary to enjoy a better career.”

I can feel Monday creeping up on me. Every moment counts. I have to do the work that will set me free. Soon my current job will be a distant memory, one that I can look back on and say, “that was the job that motivated me to do the hard work so I can enjoy the life I have now.”

The time to rest will come. Until then, keep pushing forward.

Conclusion

Finding meaning and fulfillment in your current job is essential, especially if you are trying to survive a terrible job. But it is important to note that if or when you can move on to a new job or new career, these principles are still relevant.

Hopefully, your next job has its source of meaning and fulfillment. But each of these practices should be a regular thing no matter where you go. I plan to continue these as long as I can.