Transform an Unfulfilling Career into a Source of Joy

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In November 2024, a Gallup survey revealed that more than half of 20,000 U.S. workers were actively looking for or keeping an eye on new job opportunities. This marks the highest level of job dissatisfaction in a decade, surpassing the levels seen during the Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022. But here’s the thing: It’s not that we don’t have jobs or don’t enjoy parts of our jobs, but often, our work doesn’t light us up. Most of us are just going through the motions, yearning for more but unsure how to get there.

The good news? You don’t need to throw everything away and quit your job to find fulfillment. I don’t believe everyone should chase a career by following their passion. Many of us are good at something, or maybe we make great money doing it, but it’s not deeply fulfilling. The answer isn’t always to leave what pays the bills to follow a passion that may or may not work out. Instead, there’s a far more realistic, and arguably more sustainable, solution: the art of subtraction.

The Art of Subtraction

The art of subtraction is an intentional, reflective process where you look at everything you’re doing in your current job and eliminate what you don’t like. It’s about carving out more time for the parts of your job that bring you joy and removing or minimizing the parts that drain you. The aim isn't to quit your job entirely but to improve your work-life experience.

It’s simple but powerful:

1. List everything you do: Write down all the responsibilities, tasks, and duties you regularly handle. Don’t hold back. Include everything.
2. Identify what you don’t like: Go through the list and highlight the things you dread—the tasks that drain your energy or bring you little satisfaction. This could be anything from handling endless meetings to answering emails or performing tasks you’ve outgrown.
3. Focus on what lights you up: Now, take note of the one or two tasks you enjoy doing—those moments in your day when you feel engaged and energized. These are your golden nuggets. The goal is to do more of this and less of everything else.
4. Minimize the meh: This step is key: Begin to remove or minimize the activities you don't enjoy. Over time, you’ll be able to increase the percentage of your day spent on things you enjoy and reduce the tasks you tolerate or despise.

The Power of Incremental Change

I know it sounds simple, but the beauty here is its incremental nature. It doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your life or career overnight. Instead, it’s about making small, manageable changes that lead to a more fulfilling work life over time.

For example, I spent many years as a general internal medicine doctor. While I liked helping people, the daily grind of office work, on-call shifts, and nursing home visits started to burn me out. I dreaded more aspects of my job than I enjoyed. When I performed the art of subtraction, I closely looked at my responsibilities. I listed everything I did and realized one thing really stood out: hospice medicine. It was the only part of my job that I felt deeply connected to, and I found that I would do it even if I weren’t being paid.

I made a change. I started reducing the time I spent on the parts of medicine I disliked and slowly increased the time I dedicated to hospice care. Over time, this led me to transition into a career where I focused primarily on hospice work, leaving behind the parts that drained me. This didn’t happen overnight, but it was a slow, deliberate process of leaving what didn’t serve me and adding more of what fulfilled me.

Why Subtraction Works

This is rooted in the idea of alignment. We all have different things that light us up. Dedicating even a small part of our day to what we're passionate about can significantly affect how we feel about our work. But this process also requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. What really energizes you? What can you live without?

We can improve our day-to-day work life, and align our jobs with a deeper sense of purpose. This sense of purpose doesn’t have to come from a complete career shift; instead, it can be cultivated right where you are, in the job you’re already doing. It’s about being present and intentional with how you spend your time.

It’s Time for a Change, Without the Big Leap

The beauty of subtraction is that it doesn’t require drastic action. You don’t need to burn bridges and quit your job to find fulfillment. You can improve your job satisfaction without making massive changes, but rather by taking small steps toward improving your career.

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If you feel stuck in a job that isn’t fulfilling, think about where you spend most of your energy. Are there tasks that you dread doing every day? Can you identify parts of your work that actually bring you joy?

Use subtraction to carve out more time for what you want to be doing, and less of what you don't. And over time, you’ll find that your job isn’t just a way to pay the bills—it brings you purpose, satisfaction, and happiness.

Final Thoughts

The struggle with job dissatisfaction isn’t unique to a few people—studies show that most of us are dissatisfied with some aspect of our work. The 2024 Gallup survey paints a picture of a workforce seeking something better, with more than half of U.S. workers actively seeking new opportunities. But it’s not always about quitting to find fulfillment. Sometimes, the answer is simply subtracting the things that don’t serve you and focusing on what lights you up.

The art of subtraction can be the key to transforming your career from one that drains you into one that energizes you. Start small. Subtract one thing, then add one thing. With patience and purpose, you can shift your job into a source of joy without ever having to leave it behind.