Has your passion at work been steadily (or quickly) declining?
You wouldn’t be alone. An overwhelming majority of your colleagues may feel the same way.
If you’re dragging yourself out of bed in the morning, endlessly yawning at your desk, and struggling to find the focus to get through your daily tasks, you’re definitely not engaged with your work.
As if that isn’t hard enough to work through, you may be battling frustration or guilt about feeling so burnt out (or checked out) in the first place, wondering where your passion at work disappeared to.
Your discontent may even spill over into your personal relationships, self-care routines, and your ability to be happy and productive in other areas of your life.
It’s just not a good place for anyone to be.
How can you find passion at work, right where you are?
Simply leaving one job for another isn’t always a practical fix, nor is it always the answer. In fact, without taking steps to interrupt these familiar patterns, it’s likely you’ll start disengaging from your next position once the shine has worn off on your new job.
Luckily, there are some practical, straightforward strategies that you can use to raise your energy levels, boost your enthusiasm, and reignite your passion!
Here are 5 steps to reignite your passion at work, without changing jobs:
1. Recognize your energy levels and plan accordingly.
There’s nothing worse than feeling completely worn-out and washed up, and then beating yourself up emotionally for not getting “enough” done.
Consistently pushing yourself beyond your energetic capacity is detrimental in the long run.
Think of your energy reserve like a rubber band—if you keep stretching it out, you’ll eventually hit its elastic limit. But instead of contracting gracefully, that rubber band is more likely to snap back and leave a nasty welt.
And not only that, when the elasticity is impaired from being overstretched, the rubber becomes brittle and more likely to crack or break the next time you need to stretch.
My point is that it’s important to take care of yourself before you snap.
Take a few minutes to think about where your energy levels are and how they fluctuate during the day. Consider restructuring your workday so you’re tackling the harder, more challenging tasks at a time of day when you’re more flush with energy.
Whatever you need to do, make sure you honor where you’re at and concentrate on addressing the problem instead of guilt-tripping yourself over what you can’t control.
2. Make time to refill and replenish yourself.
You can’t pour from an empty cup. We all recognize that we should take time to relax and replenish our energy instead of constantly producing, but how many of us actually do that?
Make space in your day to relax and/or express yourself differently than you normally do.
Maybe try journaling or another form of creative expression. Or indulge a passion (like cooking a meal or reading for pleasure).
Your subconscious brain will continue chewing away on things while you’re focused on something else, and you’ll be able to return to your regular tasks with fresh perspective and energy.
3. Walk out(side) the door.
Simply getting outdoors has the highly under-appreciated effect of interrupting repetitive, unhealthy mental processes and kickstarting creativity. Go for a walk during your 15-minute break or eat lunch in the park. Make an effort to change your scenery!
Ideally, you’d go outside, but I know that’s not possible at all times of year. If you’re stuck indoors, at least take a spin around your building. Stand by a window that overlooks a tree and stare at it for a while. Get up and go look at the plant in the next room!
Standing up and walking away from your familiar work zone—figuratively trying something new—can remind you that a world exists outside the bubble you’ve created around yourself.
By the way, when you do this, leave your phone (or tablet or laptop) behind. There’s no point in putting yourself in new surroundings if there are still nearby electronics vying for your attention and pulling you out of the moment.
4. Set an intention for your time.
How often do you intentionally set a purpose or a goal for how you want to feel at the end of the day? We set task and productivity goals all the time, but I want to challenge you to think about how you’ll feel once you’ve checked those items off your list.
By taking a few moments to think about the outcome you desire, your actions become aligned with that goal.
It doesn’t need to be a complicated intention! Something as simple as “I’m going to feel accomplishment and passion at work at the end of this hour,” works just fine.
5. Surround yourself with positive influences.
We humans have a superpower. Chameleon-like, we tend to absorb the mindset and emotions of the people around us. But like every superpower, this can have a significant drawback. If those around us are negative about their lives, we’ll start to absorb their attitudes. Our companions become our own personal kryptonite.
So how can a superhero like you rebound?
You can surround yourself with family, friends, partners, coworkers, and clients who are passionate and excited.
If you worked alongside people like this, how do you think you’d feel at the end of the day?
Start by taking a mental inventory of anyone in your life who falls into these buckets:
- Supportive family members who encourage you and help you recharge when you get home.
- Coworkers who are energized by change and trying new things, ultimately inspiring you to step outside your comfort zone.
- Clients who are excited about their own projects (and who have reasonable expectations of what you can do).
- A job coach who’s there to help you stay motivated and focused on your professional and personal goals of experiencing more passion at work.
It can be hard to stay positive, especially when the world seems intent on dragging us down. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways we can combat that feeling of hopelessness and the first step is to recognize your energy.
Considering a career change?
Check out our in-depth guide to the field of coaching, and find out whether it might be a fit for your gifts and goals.
