I have a number of friends who are currently in the process of “decluttering” their homes. This is largely because of the very trendy Marie Kondo book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
My friend Teri told me about pulling all of the clothes she owns out of her closet and chest of drawers and piling them on the floor. She explains, “You then pick up each item, one at a time, asking yourself, ‘Does this item bring me joy?’ If the answer is yes, you can keep it! If the answer is no, this does not bring me joy, you have to get rid of it. In the end, you only have clothes that bring you joy! It’s so simple, isn’t it? “
Yes, that sounds simple. And it makes me wonder about all of the other things in my life that could be evaluated that way.
Imagine if everything around you brought you joy!
I started thinking about work. Overall, yes, my work brings me joy. But my office chair? No. Definitely does not bring me joy and now it’s on the list for donation. Time to go shopping for a new one! What else in my workplace could bring me joy? A new poster above my workstation? An accomplishment journal? Remembering to be grateful for the great boss I have?
We spend so many hours at our jobs that this should be an area in life that brings us joy. If it doesn’t, perhaps it’s time to look for work that does.
So today I challenge you to ask yourself…Does your work bring you joy?
And how about that office chair?