In This Post:
- Loving what you do is important for many reasons.
- Four reasons why you should really love teaching and why what you do is important.
Ok, let’s be honest; sometimes work can suck. Yep, I said it. Me, Mr “I love Mondays because I love what I do.” Because it’s true. Even when you love what you do, you still get stressed, still get tired, and still have bad days.
The thing is, if you really do LOVE what you do, those bad days, those stressful days, they’re just a little less painful. When you love what you do, there are fewer of those days. And when they come, you can climb back much faster, and much more easily. Because, when you truly love what you do, that love drives everything you do, including dealing with the stress and frustrations that will occur no matter what.
I love what I do. Like, I really love it. I love it so much, I actually don’t love weekends. I mean, I love spending time with my wife and kids and seeing friends and family. But I’m always aching to get back to work. I get pumped up on Sundays because I love Mondays.
I want this for you.
I hope you already love what you do. But if not, here are 4 reasons I think you should.
1. What you do matters.
I know you know this, but sometimes I feel like teachers can get caught up in the 500 daily challenges you come across every day. The politics, the restricted environments, lack of tech, new curriculum, or the constant changes in state policies, that we can forget this.
So here I am, reminding you again: What you do matters.
I know you’ve heard this. And it might sound corny, or cheesy, or whatever…but it’s true. The future of the world is in your classroom every day. The environment you create, and the culture you foster in your classroom, impacts that future. How you feel about what you do affects how you do your job. And how you do your job affects the impact you will or will not have on those students.
Let me say it again: What you do matters.
If you're going to spend half your life doing something, it sure makes sense to me that you should love that thing. Click To Tweet2. Your students need you.
Fact is, when you love what you do, you do it better. And when you do what you do better, and with a positive outlook, because you actually enjoy it, people notice. Your students are people. They will notice. They will feel your love, or lack thereof, for the content you’re sharing, the activities you’ve put together, and conversations you’re having with them.
For many of your students, you may be the only person they feel cares about them. If you don’t love what you do, they’ll feel that lack of love. So love what you do…your kids need you.
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3. You’ll spend more than half your life doing it.
The average person will spend close to (or more than) half their life at work. So the truth is, balance is a myth. And that’s okay. It’s not about balance, it’s about harmony. Your harmony is how everything in your life flows together. Sometimes work needs to dominate your time, and other times your personal life needs to take over.
Regardless of how often or how little work dominates, if you don’t love it, it’s going to drag you down. If you’re going to spend half your life doing something, it sure makes sense to me that you should love that thing.
4. Because you deserve to be happy.
This one is pretty simple, but I truly believe it. You deserve happiness. You deserve to enjoy the work you do. My least favorite thing is watching my Facebook feed on Sunday nights. It’s filled with friends and family dreading the next morning, and it kills me. I want my friends and family to be excited about what they get to do every day. I want YOU to be excited about what YOU get to do every day. I want you to be happy, because you deserve to be happy.
Far too many people hate Mondays, don’t like Tuesdays, aren’t fans of Wednesdays, are sick of Thursdays, and just hope Fridays fly by. That leaves one day for them to love. That’s no way to live. If I invited you to see a movie and promised you would love less than 20% of it…you probably wouldn’t watch it. So why would you settle for loving less than 20% of your week?
The truth is, your job is important, it has a true impact on our world, and every day that you step into that classroom, you have the opportunity to change lives.
You GET to be an educator.
You GET to go to work every Monday and impact lives.
You GET to do it.
Love it.
About Jeff Gargas
Jeff Gargas is the COO and co-founder of the Teach Better Team. Prior to co-founding Teach Better Team, Jeff was the owner of ENI Multimedia, an online marketing firm, where he worked with entrepreneurs and small businesses, assisting them with web design, social media, content marketing, and brand awareness.
Prior to all of this, Jeff was an adjunctive professor at Kent State University and spent 10+ years in the music industry. He has spoken at conferences around the country, and has successfully promoted more than 500 events and launched 7 businesses in a variety of industries.
Jeff is passionate about music, and enjoys spending time with his family as often as possible. He is also a member of the Teach Better Speakers Network.
