And the very intrinsic motivation to do everything as close as possible to how it is supposed to be! That answers most questions I received during my career, especially last year!
Those questions and the conversation I had last week with an excellent friend led me to reflect on my path in professional life. You will get out of it what helped me to stay focused and motivated, where I got my energy from, and more!
First and foremost, I have always valued satisfaction and fulfilment at work. It was and is my uppermost priority to enjoy my time at work as I do my personal life/activities. Just think about it that way: You spend the same amount of time at work as your time with personal activities combined!
After completing my four years of apprenticeship and an additional year of regular work, I felt unhappy with my professional situation. I had the urge to improve my programming ability. Due to several reasons, I did not have the opportunity to do that on the job. I respected and valued a big part of the work I was tasked with, like customer relations, customer education and project management. Nevertheless, I felt more and more unsatisfied. A short time later, the process to take my studies was in place.
Due to that experience, I established a principle for myself about every situation/feeling I am unhappy with: "Accept it or Change it!" and yes, it is as simple as that. I get some pretty frustrated responses whenever I suggest it tho. Perhaps that's more regarding the flat tone and casualness in how I reply than the suggestion itself. Of course, there is the non-option of "Fight it!" as well. The urge to fight reality and be vocal about the unfairness of the situation - or simply put - to rant. Ranting is perfectly fine and only human. However, dangerous if getting out of hand. Not only for you but as well for your close ones.
Proactively solving and approaching challenges will have the additional positive side effect of feeling comfortable in uncomfortable situations. It will help you approach them more rationally and effectively than you would if led by panic.
After tackling the unpleasant event of dealing with uncomfortable situations, I have taken some actions to make sure to encounter as few of them as possible. The most important part is the people with whom you surround yourself! Look for like-minded souls who support and comfort you in bad times and pull you back to the ground when you get too excited about something! Look for people who treat you the same way you would like to treat them. At this point, I want to draw your attention to my principle, "Accept it or Change it!". It counts for people and situations - in extreme cases, especially if you feel worse after meeting a person than before, you might consider cutting those connections - it might hurt in the beginning but will feel better in the long run.
Last but not least, follow your desire. Being passionate about a topic/activity gives you the amount of energy you need to overcome all of the challenges ahead. Every job has its duty which we need to accept as part of it. It is relatively easy to transition into a new branch of work or gather information about a specific topic in today's digital age.
Identify your passion by observing where your attention is drawn repeatedly.
Let me give you an example:
I started my career in Software Development 17 years ago. During that time, I always enjoyed programming to create new software. However, I was always bothered by faulted processes, inefficiency, and, ultimately, the quality of the whole Software Development Lifecycle. I couldn't identify or commit myself to reading up always the newest technologies and using them; instead, I concentrated on easy solutions. It shifted from being fascinated by writing code to resolving challenges and optimising how to get more value out of the whole system. A year later, I realised that my passion identifies as Quality Assurance!
TLDR;
Finding my passion gave me the energy and focus on becoming the person I am today. I was able to inspire others by my behaviour and exceed my expectations in my private and professional life. Only possible due to the people I surround myself with, the simplification of challenges faced, and the intrinsic motivation to understand the whole picture to make the best possible decisions.
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