Why should you do something you don’t like?

Ruben Riosa
Nov 5 · 3 min read

How many of you ended up doing something you really don’t like?

Probably you’re one of them. Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with that; on the contrary, I think you have been really lucky. No, I’m not joking, and I’ll tell you why in the next lines.

Recently, I ended up working for some time in the lab (which is the cool way to define all the work that is done in a laboratory that requires a coat, gloves, and other various protection), and I have to say it loudly: I DON’T LIKE IT!

Actually, I already knew that, since I spent some times working in a lab during my master’s degree, so, it was a sort of confirmation of my “hate-relationship” with it. However, I truly believe that it was, and it is, extremely important that I carry on doing also this part of the job.

Me doing things I clearly don’t like

In my case, doing the lab work means a lot. Not only because of the pride of doing everything related to my personal PhD project, but most importantly because when you do the “real” job in the lab you really understand what’s behind a research project and why you get certain results. For me, doing lab work means understanding the processes, the methods, but also the limit of a technique that permit me to obtain, publishable (hopefully), results in the end.
If I wouldn’t be doing all this practical part of my job, I would not be able to really understand how I obtained certain results and why they look like this.

This theory could certainly be applied to a large spectrum. Are you doing something you don’t like? Are you thinking something like “why do I have to do that? I have to quit my job!” Well, don’t do that. Or at least not immediately… before doing something that could be likely irreversible, think: is this activity useful for my personal growth? Is it returning me something which is important in my life?

If the answer to this question is “YES”, then… DON’T QUIT! Bite the bullet and go on, you’ll certainly find in future that the activities you’re not liking at the moment are very useful to understand some specific processes, or maybe even to find a better job. So, try to overcome the “I-don’t-like-it-feeling” and think to the positive things that can come with it.

To conclude: why should you do something you don’t like?

· Improving your personal skills;

· Better understanding of a process if you do all the job — included the one you don’t like of course;

· Personal growth.

Hopefully, you will find some little extra motivation from this little piece that will lead you through the difficult moments of your life in which you’re not doing what you really like.

Ruben Riosa is an animal nutritionist currently working as a PhD student at the University of Bonn, where he is part of the MSCA ITN project MANNA. His project focuses on dairy cow’s nutrition and physiology. In the MANNA network he is also the Scientific copywriter. He is deeply interested in science communication and loves to write.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rubenriosa/

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