It only happened on Mondays. room of the train station. It wasn’t the commute I hated. It was the job.

The reasons don’t matter why a job I once enjoyed turned into a job I didn’t. It happens. Bosses change, companies change, priorities change, budgets change, responsibilities change. Some changes bring personal growth and opportunity. Some don’t.

What does matter was the lesson learned that stayed with me the rest of my career: a job is not just a job. That job I hated helped my account.

But my confidence, creativity, health, energy for life and view of the world was not as fortunate. When the alarm clock sounded, my previous excitement to face a new day became cocoon-like behaviour, wanting protection from another day’s battle. How you spend a significant part of your day rubs off on the rest of your day, and on those you share your life with. Over time, it rubs off on your life. I’m talking about the long-term match between who you are and your job.

When you’re in a job that’s good for you, you can feel it. And you can feel it when you’re not. I agree with Barbara DeAngeles, “No job is a good job if it isn’t good for you.”

You see, you can’t be winning at work if you don’t like what you’re doing, where you’re doing it. If what you do feels like work the majority of the time, you might want to think about why, and what you can do to change it. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should change jobs or companies. Transferring to another team, volunteering for a new project, or asking your boss for new responsibilities may be all it takes.

But, whatever it takes, you won’t be able to offer your best at work and get rewarded with interesting work, personal growth and financial rewards, if you aren’t in a good workplace environment and a good position match for who you are, what you want, and what you have

to offer.