This is an adapted excerpt from The Stay Joyful Method: Using Joy as a Tool to Rise, Lead, and Redefine Success by Bose Akadiri, reprinted with permission from the author and publisher.

The saying goes: ‘Enjoy what you do, and you’ll never feel like you work a day in your life.’ Some would say there can’t be joy in work.

I’d like to challenge that, not only because I, as well as others, am living proof that you can, in fact, enjoy your work, job, or profession. There is proven research that it’s actually helpful to enjoy the work you do.

I do understand it’s not always common to be in a role you enjoy; however, let’s talk about ways to shift that for you.

Your Journey to Start Professional Joy

It starts with understanding your unique purpose and value add. Adding value to your team and work offers a certain level of satisfaction to your soul.

Purpose is the overlap between what brings you joy and what your talents and skillsets are. Finding your purpose is the foundation for positioning yourself professionally to build your reputation in something you’re good at that also brings you joy.

Often, people refer to jobs with purpose as those in the social impact space or the nonprofit sector. While those are great roles, that is not what I mean by ‘purpose’ here. The definition of purpose within this text is the crossover between your joy factors and your income-generating skills, it is unique to the individual.

You deserve a career that brings you fulfillment. Yes, it’s nice to get a paycheck, but what’s equally fabulous is to really enjoy the work you do. This can be a difficult mindset shift, as our entire lives, the story we’ve been told is that work is something to get done, something we have to do, rather than something we get to do and can enjoy.

I’m not referring to opportunity as the moment when your boss comes to you with an ‘opportunity’ in which they’ll dump more on you without compensation or recognition. I’m talking about getting to do what sets your heart on fire! The job you’re both part excited and part curious about. I want you to grow and glow in your next opportunity. Imagine having a job that moves with you and ages with you like a fine wine.

The next time someone says, ‘Everyone wants this job. You should be grateful for it.’ You'll be able to pause and consider your joy rather than what everyone else wants. You won’t just say yes to everything that comes your way (even if that means staying in your current role). You’ll be able to clearly ask yourself what makes sense for you and then choose that.

If you’re having trouble figuring out whether you have professional joy, keep it simple. Consider whether the job at this place makes you smile or frown. Does it energize you or drain you? When you get home from work each day, are you counting down the days, hours, and minutes until the weekend? Are you excited and chatting about this job nonstop? Your answers to all these questions affect your energy, which is a telltale sign of your joy factors.

Sustaining your professional joy means knowing you can walk away when and if you need to.

There will be times when you’re so eager to move to the next stage in your career. You know what it is and you can name it so clearly, but you just can’t seem to get that job. This is when it’s important to remember that everything you do today is building toward your tomorrow. Take the current role as your learning experiment, preparing you for your big, beautiful future.