“So How’s Work Going?”

Often in conversation with friends and family it’s common to hear this question: “how’s work going?”.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always experienced a moment’s hesitation whenever I’m asked that question. In that moment, various images rush through my mind…

• the emails that have piled up in the previous week that I haven’t answered yet
• the looming quarter-end deadline and the deals that have to get done before the clock strikes midnight
• the difficult challenges I am facing with an employee
• the low-ball pricing being thrown around in the market by a desperate competitor

… and I “see” the rocks in front of the ship. I see the danger and the pressing, immediate challenges.

This is normal of many people I’m sure. Problems go with every job. After all, if our employers didn’t have problems for us to solve they wouldn’t need to send us a paycheck every other week. So the existence of problems is to be expected. It’s part of the human condition.

Also, we may feel a need to convey to our friends the complexities of our lives. We think: “I’m working hard! It isn’t all roses you know! I’ve got big problems that I’m solving and I deserve a bit of social credit!” And so we’re tempted to talk about the obstacles we’re (heroically) wrestling with.

But as the litany of unresolved challenges race through my head, I also think about…

• the customers we have and the business we have earned
• the colleagues I get to work with and occasionally laugh with
• the great products our company has and the problems we solve for others
• the rising tide of market demand that is sure to lift our boat

…and I realize that overall, I’m pretty lucky. So after that brief moment, I give them my honest answer.

“Work? It’s going great.”

I hope you take the opportunity today to consider the many reasons why work might be going great for you as well.

Good luck!