Is the fire in the belly you once felt for your work a flickering flame? Are you avoiding the next task on your list? It can happen to all of us. It could be you need a change in career. More likely it could mean you've simply lost touch with what energizes you about your role now. I know the feeling. We all do on certain days. So what do you do?
Here are three ways I restore my passion for hard work. What are yours?
1. Think less about what you have to do and more about what you can make happen. On weekends, I take bizarre comfort in cleaning a room or sweeping the yard because I can tell my efforts yielded a clear and visible outcome. I stare for long minutes at the evidence I accomplished something visible. On the other hand, a day's work at the office can sometimes have an excruciatingly incremental quality. Maybe you tried and tried and nothing seems better or different. The hard work of progress at many jobs is scarcely evident and can wear you down unless you remember why you are grinding away at it in the first place. Worry less about what's in front of you and more about what the end result could be. Write down where you hope your efforts will lead you and post this thought in your field of vision. Sometimes, to get through the day, you need to take time to imagine where you you are headed. For me, possibility is a great motivator.
2. Give your purpose a pulse. When you need inspiration, think of how your work can positively affect any living being. What will your efforts do to make something - anything - on this planet a little better? Ask yourself: "At the end of the day, whose life is better for what I do?” My best days are when I am reminded I made a difference for someone - or even better, many people. Talk to customers or beneficiaries or colleagues whom you are serving - and listen to how your work matters. If you're not feeling it, commit a random act of kindness for a co-worker. For me, people are a great motivator.
3. Look for little, good moments. One night a few years ago, I was standing on a metro platform waiting for the train home and my head was a swirl of anxiety: When would all of my children be happy? When would everything at work go according to plan? When would I understand my place in the universe? As the train pulled up, I realized the answer was mostly likely never. What was I thinking? As a slow learner, I only came to this conclusion after a long day at the office -- and more than four decades of living. I have no idea why I was so late to the epiphany - or why it came on a crowded railway platform - but I felt infinitely better then and ever since. I don't dwell on what's not right but rather try to look for a few good moments every day. Maybe it's when something fantastic happened - but more likely it's because one small thing in a meeting felt right or someone made me laugh or the coffee was especially good that day. In my experience, joy at work is a series of tiny beautiful incidents, which you string together over time into a larger meaning. It's not a sustained experience of happy industry - but that's what can make the nice parts more exquisite. The trick is to see them and savor them. For me, perspective is the best motivator of all.
Please share how you find your fire on the tough days.
Like this article? Then connect with Willem Tait on LinkedIn at http://za.linkedin.com/in/willemtait/
First published Media/ePals
