Regardless of what we choose to work on and where we choose to do it, we pay a tax.
At big companies, it might be all that time spent planning and coordinating. At smaller firms, it might be the uncertainty of whether things will work out. And, for those at home caring for loved ones, it might be recurring questions about your own relevance.
And, in every one of these situations, there generally is * that * person who seems to make things difficult.
Since there’s no running away from the tax and assuming you like being where you are, the only question, then, is – what makes paying the tax worth it?
Generally, it comes down to one or two things that matter. For example, if you’re designing/building products at a big company, it may be the joy you feel when what you build touches thousands of people at once. And, if that’s what matters, intentionally pick the 1-3 battles you most want to fight for this month that make paying the tax worth it.
It is amazing how much of a difference this little bit of re-framing combined with focus can make – they help move all the energy we’d otherwise waste in complaining to focusing on the things that move the needle – in our work and for ourselves.
