‘It isn't work if you love what you’re doing’. You’ve heard that phrase before, I’m sure. Whether you’ve been at your current job for a year, a decade, or for what feels like a lifetime, you know it’s not always the case. Sometimes, no matter how much you love what you do, there are days that feel like they are more work than you can handle.

The sentiment of the statement rings true. Time seems to go faster when you enjoy your career. Family situations seem more manageable. You tend to find joy in things that previously went unnoticed in your life. In general, you’re happier and increasingly satisfied with your life.

How can you make every day fun and enjoyable? Have you been working in your role so long that it’s always mundane, day in and day out? What about ‘the grind’ when nothing seems to go right and you feel trapped in a barren wasteland of a career? How can you honestly say you love your job once again?

Remember Why You Chose This Career

Fixed operations roles come down to customer service. Every day is packed with interactions between you and your customers, and you and your co-workers. Parts department, service department, and body shop roles are commonly filled with Alpha-type personalities like yourself or at least people who enjoy being around other people. It’s a steady job with fairly reliable income. And in most cases, the pay isn’t bad either.

What was your reason for choosing Fixed Ops? It might be the people you work with who push you to be better at your career. A good group of coworkers and employees – depending on your role – can be the support network to keep your spirits up when you’re having a down day. They can be the sum of the reason you get ready for work in the morning – to spend time with your friends.

It might be the challenging environment. Some people like myself tend to excel under pressure. In the service department and parts department, there’s plenty of pressure on a daily basis to help you thrive. Like they say, diamonds are formed under extreme pressure. If that’s what you love – the thrill of the chase or the opportunity to perform the impossible – you’ve found a forum for it.

Hey, it’s alright if you’re in it for the money. Paychecks can be lucrative at times, especially considering no formal education is required for most dealership employees. If you’re down in the dumps because your income is suffering, you have only one person to blame and who will help you succeed – yourself. Just be sure that if you’re in your current position because of the money, the ‘work’ aspects of your role, especially customer service, don’t fall to the wayside.

Get Your Head Back In It

If you can remember why you once loved your job, you can get back to that place. The work comes in keeping your attitude and motives in check. Once you get back into your groove, doing the things you truly love about your job, the enjoyment factor will fall into place.

• Find the turning point. Can you remember when you stopped enjoying your job? What circumstances unfolded? If you can identify the turning point, you can cut that poison apple out of your diet and get back into a healthy work environment.
• Create a routine. In plenty of cases (some I’ve gone through personally), you start to hate going to work in the morning because you’ve lost your ‘mojo’. You’re out of step. Structure and stability in a routine will help you regain your rhythm.
• Do something great every day. It doesn’t have to be work related either. Doing something great, whether it stretches your comfort zone, improves your life or the lives of others, or takes steps toward achieving a target or dream, will have a great impact on your career. It cultivates a ‘can-do’ attitude and jacks up your positivity. That most definitely will transfer into your work life.

It’s okay to have times of doubt, and it’s totally normal to question your sanity when you live the dealership life. You will have depressing days where you just want to quit. That’s in every job, I hear. The goal is to achieve an overall healthy work-life/home-life balance, and one where the good days outweigh the bad.

If you’ve never liked your job, why are you there? If you hang around for a paycheck but are miserable day in and day out, it’s time to move on. Find a career where, at the end of the day, you can say, “I love my job!”