Most of us have crossed paths with someone who absolutely loves their job. They don’t just like their job, they love it. When someone says they love their job, what they are really saying is they feel fulfilled at the end of the day. While they may not be able to put it into words, they feel that their job is one of the things they do in order to bring their Why to life; perhaps they even feel that they are part of a cause greater than themselves. And the fact that their job is more than a paycheck is the reason they love their job. The first step to finding a job you love is to identify what brings you fulfillment; what drives and inspires you. You must start with Why.

When we don’t have clarity of Why, we tend to apply for many different positions, or perhaps worse, get stuck thinking we can only work in one industry because we have a specific skill set. We focus on What (our skills) rather than Why (what we believe). When we focus on skill set and salary alone, we may find ourselves having to fudge things a bit in order to make ourselves fit into the culture of the companies we work for. Bending to fit into a culture where we won’t naturally thrive might land us the job, but we likely won’t be going home feeling fulfilled. If you’ve felt this way in the past, you’re not alone. 80% of people don’t feel fulfilled by the work they do.

There is an alternative. A way to wake up everyday inspired to do the work we love. When we have clear sense of Why and can clearly say it to others, we can better judge the environments, individuals and kind of companies that inspire us. Armed with that knowledge we have to be disciplined to only apply for jobs that are more likely to leave us feeling enriched. In the long run, you may be applying for fewer positions, but the likelihood of you landing a job you love is much higher.