One of the biggest problems in our workplaces is the thinking that turning off your personality between 9 and 5 is how work is supposed to be. Malarkey! 

Our quirks, spontaneity, and eccentricities are what make the human salad …well… a flavorful salad. Why must that be turned off at work? 

Like them or not, Southwest Airlines has proven to be a pretty successful company and they not only allow personality, they encourage it. “PLEASE bring your personality to work. PLEASE bring YOU and express yourself.”

Creating something more than mediocre, something more than average requires being unique. It screams “be you!” 

And it is this uniqueness that elevates the mundane into something more akin to art. Think Andy Warhol and the soup-can label or Roy Lichtenstein and comic-book imagery. Both are unique takes on average. 

So, why not you? Each of us has the opportunity to make our average into art. Our work, that thing that we toss off each day as a paycheck, a way to pay the bills, or the anchor we want to release in retirement can be elevated to art if we so choose. 

And by elevating the work, we can begin to love what we do even if we’re not doing what we love.

However, it requires reflection. It requires looking at ourselves and answering some questions: Who am I? What do I bring to the table that is different? What skills, viewpoints, or combination of things do I have that make my work unique? 

Answer those and deliver what you uncover. Make art. Make your work more than work. Make your work you.

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