We have heard this phrase before, "same shit, different day" when we sometimes talk about the frustrations of our day-to-day job. But why do we often get frustrated at doing the same thing over and over again?
Philosophical Engineering
I often find inspiration from running and training for marathons. And every day I'm confronted with doing the same routine of fighting the alarm clock, getting ready to run despite my legs not feeling 100%, and battling through the possibility of giving up every step of the way. And yet, my frustration is not necessarily in doing the same thing over and over again. Instead it's the frustration of things not always going well and according to what I think my plan and execution of that plan should be. That I get frustrated when my shoe comes untied or the air being too humid. Maybe the traffic lights get on my nerves that morning as it seems to slow me as I need to stop and wait for the pedestrian signal.
So when I think about this phrase in terms of work and what the phrase could possibly mean to me, I hear the frustrations of a boss not necessarily listening to your ideas or the customers calling back again with similar issues from last week or the equipment malfunctioning again since yesterday. But as I learn in running every day, I can either run forward or run away. But only one of those directions I choose, crosses the finish line.