2 ways to avoid hating your job

Many of us can't help but grumble about our jobs, whether it's the low pay, obnoxious coworkers, or lousy commute. But what we fail to realize is that we can make our jobs much more tolerable if we only made a couple of mental adjustments.

Below are two things you can do that will most definitely make your job easier to stomach.

1. Don't depend on the job to fulfill you. While we should like our work enough not to feel miserable doing it day in and day out, we should never think of our jobs as the be-all and end-all. A job will never fulfill you completely; that's what hobbies are for. I know certain jobs can certainly be fulfilling (e.g., charity work), but let's face it: the vast majority of jobs have an ugly side to them. Politics, red tape, layoffs, and other negatives are part and parcel of virtually all organizations. The less pressure you put on a job to fulfill you, the happier you'll be. You can always leave for another opportunity if your current position just isn't cutting it.

2. Don't try to make friendships at work. I'm totally in favor of going out to lunch with co-workers, or even joining them occasionally for happy hour drinks. What I don't agree with is adding them on Facebook, going out with them every weekend, and sharing your deepest and darkest secrets. At the end of the day, these people are your co-workers, not your buddies. To see them as anything more than colleagues is ill-advised. You never know when someone will stab you in the back, whether it's because they didn't like something you said or they want to get the promotion before you do. Mixing business with pleasure is simply too risky.

Once you go into a job recognizing that it'll never be perfect -- and that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side -- you'll learn to appreciate it more. Again, look to your hobbies on the side for fulfillment, or supplement your income with other projects to your liking. Jobs were never meant to be enjoyable all the time -- if they were, they wouldn't be called jobs in the first place. Moreover, aim to build relationships with people outside the office -- whether at church, in school, or at the gym.

Always remember: Working to live -- and not living to work -- is always the key to a happier life. And "living" in this case means enhancing your life with hobbies and quality relationships.

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