If You Can't Get Out of It, Get Into It.

So you just got the assignment from heck, it's for a one off, disposable piece of code.  It's not challenging, and you won't learn anything, but it's super tedious and will just take all your time.  Or perhaps your company is doing a re-org and you've been selected to be put on a team you don't want to be on.  You can view this as a punishment and a disrespect, or a test and an opportunity. 

As the title says you can't get out of it, so that's not an option.  From this point on you are going to do it, the thing you have a choice in is how you choose to see it.  You can choose your attitude.

If you have a negative attitude, you will not produce your best work.  That negative attitude will also act like a poison to your team.  If you are lucky you may get sympathy from your team mates, but you will be dragging them down with you.  You also could also give off such a negative vibe that your teammates won't trust you.  The worst part is that you will have chosen an mindset that will make you dread going to work and dread working on the task.  Hating your job is not good for your mental and physical health and could harm your relationships.  It's like a recipe for depression.

On the flip side if you embrace the task (get into it), you will produce your best possible work, and your positive attitude will lift up your team.  This positive attitude will keep you from dreading you job and your task.  I can't think of a time in one's career where doing excellent work and having a positive attitude will work against you. 

Now I'm not talking about taking a Pollyannaish view of this, blind optimism isn't what is required, just and understanding that there may be some discomfort, and that is ok (Growth == Discomfort).  I know I have fallen into the negative trap before and it is not a good place to be, and for a good part of my career that was my default, and I have to remind myself to not go there.  So "If you can't get out of it, get into it" is a nice short reminder of how to choose your mindset.

I first heard this quote on the podcast Happier  with Gretchen Rubin.  I honestly can say this has been a huge help in my life.  The point of this is that when something comes up in your life that you don't have control over and it's not the thing you would have chosen for yourself, the best thing you can do is to dive into it and make it your own.