The most important thing you can do for your job

Be thankful for it.

Ranting about your job or things associated with your job on a regular basis undermines this thankfulness and puts your job at risk.

I starred a couple of articles over at Clever Dude at the beginning of the month. The first was ten tips for Mrs. Dude's fellow drivers, and the second was ten tips for Mr. Dude's fellow mass transit riders.

(To be perfectly fair, I'm not in the clear either: I've ranted about my job before too.)

What caught my attention with the two Clever Dude posts was that the main reason that Mr. and Mrs. Dude had all of those issues with their fellow commuters was because they too were commuters.

Which means that they had jobs! Millions of Americans would put up with all kinds of annoyance if it meant that they were going to a job.

Now, I'm 100% positive that the Dudes are far more thankful for their jobs than these two posts would suggest (he's posted on this too) and these posts were pretty amusing — and pretty much on the money. If ranting and complaining about the job is regular, it begins to show. People notice this.

For as much as I talk about trying to make extra money in a side business, my job is still the main source of my income, and I should work very hard at keeping that income coming in. To be sure, being thankful for my job is a great first step in implementing all of the other things that are necessary to keep my employer happy.

Or at least, if something bugs you about your job, approach it with a sense of humor, especially if everyone else around you is going through the same dang thing.