Here is an interesting anecdote!

At a large construction site, a guy saw three workers constructing walls in a small area of the site.

He walked up to one of them and asked him:

“What are you doing?”

The worker got irritated and replied:

“Can’t you see I am laying bricks and binding them with cement.”

Then this guy went to the second worker and asked him:

“What are you doing?”

The second worker took a deep breath, and casually responded:

“I am constructing this wall, I’ll finish it by end of day.  Tomorrow, I need to work on the adjacent wall, and by the end of this week, I would have finished this section.”

The guy then went to the third worker and asked him,

“What are you doing?”

The third worker smiled, his face was beaming, and he said:

“I am building a great monument!”

All three of them were constructing similar walls, but each one of them gave a different response when asked what he was doing.

The first one viewed it as a task.

The second one viewed it as a target.

The third one viewed it as a mission.

Need we say which of the three was enjoying his work the most and deriving  job satisfaction?

What are you doing?

If you are a student, and you are working on an algebra assignment, what are you doing?

  1. Working on a specific algebra problem
  2. Clearing your assignments for the semester
  3. Laying the foundation for your career

If you are a software programmer and doing your task for the day, what are you doing?

  1. Writing a code
  2. Developing a software
  3. Building something that will change people’s lives

If you are a HR personnel, and you are scanning profiles, what are you doing?

  1. Scanning profiles
  2. Trying to fill a position
  3. Building people’s careers

If you are a blogger and you are writing a post, what are you doing?

  1. Formatting your post
  2. Promoting a product/service
  3. Sharing useful information

If you are a manager, and you are managing your team, what are you doing?

  1. Assigning tasks
  2. Delivering on targets
  3. Helping your team learn and grow

If you are running an organization, what are you doing?

  1. Launching new products
  2. Achieving x% or xx% growth YOY
  3. Building a great organization

So, whatever your job is, the key to job satisfaction lies in what you feel you are doing!