"O je" method
On how to work with (and work on your) enthusiasm
We can probably all agree that work that is not done with pleasure, work that a person does only mechanically, because he has to do it, is worthless.
It doesn't matter if it's cleaning the streets (this activity is slowly becoming my and my daughter's Saturday ritual, I highly recommend it), driving a bus, selling vegetables at markets, or creative work. If a person doesn't do it with pleasure, he loses himself—because this work kills him—and finally everyone else loses too. The streets will remain untidy, the bus ride will be so unpleasant that you'd better get off a stop earlier, you will probably never buy vegetables from that guy again, and when it comes to art, in most cases it will be worth nothing.
A few years ago, my wife and I decided to spend New Years Eve in Vienna State Opera, where they traditionally performed Sttrauss's operetta Die Fledermaus. We have seen this operetta several times and we will probably see it several more times, but the reason why I mention it here is the song that Rosalinde sings with Eisenstein and its chorus, which accompanied the strange, comical dance of the two. “O je, o je, wie rührt mich dies,” they sing and repeat it several times. “Oh dear, oh dear, how this stirs me!” The singing and dancing were so deeply etched in our memory that we had to play the song again at home, and since then we have been listening to it regularly, remembering only one thing: Do only what stirs you!
Really, it's that simple. Do only what stirs you. Do what makes you dance like this and sing "Oh dear, oh dear, how this stirs me!" Or to put it another way: work so that you can sing it to yourself. You will always check it with this song, it will be your judge. Is it “o je” enough? Yes? So do that!
Of course, it's easy to talk about things that are already "o je" in themselves and you don't need to look for excessive enthusiasm for them. However, there will be times, whether it's work, personal life or a relationship, when finding enthusiasm is perhaps the most difficult thing under the sun.
No matter what it is, you must work on your enthusiasm regularly, and incorporate techniques to support enthusiasm into your daily routine. One of the basic ones today is regular meditation, which seems to be a cure for everything, but if you would like to focus on something more specific, try, for example, smiling for yourself for a few minutes every morning. By starting the day with a smile, you trick your brain a little so that it sets itself up positively, and the situations and challenges at work will most likely be (at least a little more) smiling.
In his book The Law of Success, Napoleon Hill also advises reading the text out loud with enthusiasm. It can be a random excerpt from a newspaper or a book, a list of things you want to achieve in the near future, or a part of your written book or blog. In principle it doesn't matter. The way you read the text, the energy you devote to it, is important. The moment you bring enthusiasm into the present moment, it is more likely to stay with you in your work. O je!