I was watching a TV show the other day, and on the show the main character was struggling with their job. They wanted to quit, citing a lack of motivation as their main reason.

When the manager learned that this was the primary reason, he took the employee out for lunch for a conversation. He told the employee a story about how, when he was young, he also wanted to quit. Then he directed his employee’s attention to the restaurant manager, who was correcting a server on the appropriate way to wipe down a table.

The lesson was that you can take pride in even the most mundane of tasks, but it has to come from within. It has to come from your own values, from the compulsion to deliver a job well done in everything you do. Whether the job is wiping down a table or designing an award-winning skyscraper, they should all be done with care. The pride from knowing you’ve done that is its own reward, and that’s where the motivation comes from.

I thought about this for a bit, not immediately sure if I agreed with it or not. After all, I can certainly think of situations where no amount of internal pride can overcome the obstacles facing an individual. If you have a terrible boss, someone who steps on you and suppresses your talents, for example, it’s going to be very difficult to find pride in your work. How can you, when you’re constantly being made to feel like you’re unable to put your best foot forward?

Yeah, there are exceptions to the rule, but I think it is a good philosophy to live by. Whatever it is you’re doing, no matter how big or small – your ability to do the very best job you can do starts with you. Where does your motivation come from? Do you really want to do the best job because it’s the right thing to do, or because you’ll earn a massive bonus from it? One of those is sustainable all throughout your life – the other, not so much.

This is easier said than done, I know. Now, I’m gonna go off on a quick tangent here, but there’s a reason, I promise.

As I’ve said before, I’m trying to practice being more mindful, more present in every moment and action. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on Japanese culture, and one of the things I’ve learned is that the Japanese make an effort to harmonize with everyone and everything. The philosophy goes that everything has its own vibration, its own rhythm, and finding that rhythm allows you to immerse yourself in the moment and give yourself completely to the action you’re taking.

I know it sounds a little like voodoo, but I think of it a bit like the French language. In French, you have some nouns that are masculine, and some are feminine, and the way you use them in sentences has to change as a result. It’s like that, except with people and things.

If you want a great example of this, read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo. One of the things she talks about in her book is how you can make it easier to dispose of things you no longer need by thanking them for the joy and service they have provided you throughout their useful life. It sounds a little weird at first, until you realize that what you’re really doing there is giving yourself emotional permission to get rid of something that might have had sentimental value to you.

That is exactly what I’m talking about when it comes to intrinsic pride in your work. You have to give yourself permission to feel that pride first, by remembering that no job, no matter how big or small, clean or dirty, is undeserving of your pride and of being done well. We have to try, in each moment, to be fully present in the task at hand, giving it all of the care and attention we have to give. When you do that, and the job is done, it really doesn’t matter what you did. What matters is how you did it.

By the way – if you’re interested, the show that got me thinking about motivation is called Samurai Gourmet, and it’s on Netflix. Truly a beautiful show with a ton of great life lessons. Check it out.

How about you, do you have a story about a time you took pride in your work? Do you have any tips to share about how people can do more of that? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!