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The 4 Confusions at Work and What You Can Do Today

If you were like most people working for a while, you'll realize that many people see work as one or a combination of the 4 confusions: Work as Drudgery, Work as War, Work as Addiction and Work as Problem.  The earlier you see through these confusions, the happier you will become. Soon work will become no more confusing but with lots of clarity!  The 4 confusions are:  

1.  Work as Drudgery
   
Here we see work as drudgery and only necessary to give us a pay check so that we can have a life.  Job become a tax that we must pay before we can go home. We become deaf and dumb and unable to contribute meaningfully to our employer. 

What You Can Do: Recognize that work is not the real drudgery but your unwillingness to be interested in your work.  It's time to get passionate about your job! 

2. Work as War

Here is a lose-win mentality.  Such aggressive approach to work imprisons us in a constant impulse to maintain our point of view.  Our entire world must constantly be dealt with and controlled. Work will soon become a drudgery and burn out will be common.

What You Can Do: Know that our war is not with our work but with our own insecurity.  

3. Work as Addiction

Here we work hard and stay long hours,  We drive ourselves to do more and more and more. As workaholics, we become perfectionists.  Praise from the boss or colleague will thrill us, but such happiness is always fleeting and never enough.  On the other hand, criticism and disappointments at work will make us feel worthless.

What You Can Do: Work Less as our work has become an anesthesia - a drug for numbing us to our pain.

4. Work as Problem

Here we assume that we need to solve work - to get work to behave and stop being unpredictable and unruly.  We become idealistic - and often believe that there is one best solution to solve problems.  The mentality is constantly ambitious, always searching for the newest technique or strategy. 

If we were to examine this mentality, we would realize that work is not the problem. Our ambition and constant searching for solutions is the problem. We should stop and really see what is the situation and act accordingly. Sometimes the biggest problem is You - you create problem out of no problem! 

By Andy Ng, Trainer at Asia Trainers, details at here. 


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