I recently finished reading a novel (fiction) called Wellness. On the surface, it's a great character study about one couple's relationship over time — but what the book is REALLY about is the power of stories we tell ourselves. The stories we tell ourselves about our careers, our relationships, our family, our aspirations, our health, and everything else. One main character in the book makes a career out of leveraging the placebo effect to help people — and while she's a fictional character, it's based on mountains of research demonstrating how people often experience genuine results when given a sugar pill and a good story about why the pill supposedly works. (This is also why a lot of "snake oil" products show no effectiveness in a lab, yet still work for loads of people.)
Just after I finished Wellness, I started another book (nonfiction) called Mind Magic. This one is about the science of manifestation. Not the woo-woo aspects, but the actual brain science. A key insight is this: "The brain doesn’t distinguish between an experience that is intensely imagined and an experience that is real." Again — the power of stories we tell ourselves.
What does all this have to do with making our work enjoyable?
Because arguably the single biggest driver of whether we find our work fun (or soulcrushing) is the stories we tell ourselves about it.
If we believe that work SHOULD be fun, and deserves to be fun, then we're likely to enjoy it — challenges, imperfections, minor frustrations, and all. And if we tell ourselves that work is a slog — something to trudge through between weekends — then THAT'S how we'll experience it.
If we're looking for faults, we'll find them. If we're looking for fun, we'll find it.
But only one of these approaches will give us energy, passion, focus, and infectious joy to share with colleagues.
Reminds me of a quote I love:
"Pessimists are more often right — but optimists are more often successful."