Sixth of Six New Year’s Resolutions that will Change Your Life
“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.” — Khalil Gibran
Well we’re in a new year, and it feels like the slate is clean. That’s the wonderful thing about the beginning of a new year – it can be a time of starting over. It’s appropriate that this is the last resolution of this series because, if you keep the first five, joy will be the outcome. In other words, if you accomplish the first five, the sixth comes as a bonus.
“Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.” — Mohandas Gandhi
…Serve your donor
…Love your work
…Set goals
…Make mistakes
…Be curious
…Seek joy, and you’ll find it.
I’m not going to kid you… it’s going to be hard to keep these resolutions. It’s always easier to “just get by,” or to complain and whine about your work to others, and basically do the minimum to keep your job.
But that’s not living.
2020 is the year to find joy in the work you do. Will it be there every day? No. Will it be there most days? Probably not. Joy is not easy to find.
“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” — Joseph Campbell
But when a donor calls you to thank you for the way you attended to her need, or when you see the smile on a donor’s face when she sees the project she helped fund for the first time… you’ll find joy. (Tweet it!)
When your boss notices how in-tune you seem to be with your caseload and you’re making your revenue goals, or you realize that someone was saved from heartache or death because of your work… you’ll find joy.
When you’ve served your donor well, when you realize that you can’t wait to get to work in the morning, when you’ve set goals for your caseload, when you have a plan to take risks during the year, and when you’re asking great questions left and right… YOU will find joy.
Seek joy this year, and it will find you.
Have an incredible 2020. Richard and I wish you all the best in your work.
“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Jeff
Read the whole series, Six New Year’s Resolutions that will Change Your Life:
New Year’s Resolution #1: Resolve to Serve Your Donor, Don’t Sell Them
New Year’s Resolution #2: Resolve to Love Your Work!
New Year’s Resolution #3: Resolve to Set Goals!
New Year’s Resolution #4: Resolve to Make Mistakes
New Year’s Resolution #5: Resolve to be More Curious – Ask More Questions
New Year’s Resolution #6: Resolve to Seek Joy! (This post)
This post was originally published as we began 2012.
Related Posts
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Resolve to Make Mistakes
January 10, 2020
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Resolve to Love Your Work!
January 6, 2020
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Resolve to Set Goals!
January 8, 2020
I had already made “Seek Joy” my theme for 2020. So true that we must seek joy and find work that brings us joy. We must serve with joy or the work is for naught. Thanks for this.