Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Spur Your Enthusiasm
It's 4:35 in the morning. I'm yawning, my eyes are drooping, and I'm combing over my work to replace any letters or words I may have inadvertantly dropped as a result of my sleepiness.It's at this point when I start giving myself mental pep talks. Because I need to wake up. Because I need to do my job well. And mostly... because I have to depend on myself for most of my encouragement.
It's not to say that the people that I work with don't offer any support. But I've noticed that there's a generation gap, and that one's enthusiasm may be determined by which side of the gap one is on.
Years in the business have worn down some of my co-workers. They can be jaded. Unaffected. Sometimes cynical. And for a few, the job has become just that -- merely a job. Sometimes -- or often times, depending on who it is -- they complain; about hours, fellow staffers, vacation time; about how their job is interfering with their marriage, kids, health or any other myriad of things.
It's a different story for me. I'm the youngest in the newsroom. I have no kids, no spouse, no family responsibilities. And I constantly remind myself how blessed I am to be here just a year and a half out of school. So there are times when I want to jump on top of a desk and shout -- like Hakeem in Coming to America -- "I am very happy to be here!"
(At the risk, of course, of having people question my sanity.)
Where some see a burden, I see nothing but opportunity. The challenge now is making the most of that opportunity. And to do that, I have to hold on the enthusiasm I came in with -- even at 4:35 a.m. -- despite any apathy or dissention that may sit in a desk nearby. Why? Because the stakes are different for me.
I'm just getting started.
What do you to maintain your enthusiasm?
Labels: Job survival
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You know in the early days I use to cry on the way to work (I hated being a cops reporter) then I would pull into the parking lot, wipe my face and go in there and give them 150 percent cause that's what I was paid to do and I knew it would not be that way always.
Now, I love my job, but there are days when it's work and not fun. On those days I tell myself that it can't be rainbows and sunshine all the time and I'd rather have a job that was 95 percent fun and engaging and interesting than a job I had to cry about every morning before I could walk in the door and do it.