Do you sometimes find yourself just going through the motions of your job? Has the excitement gone out of your daily routine?
Remember way back when you started your job? You were excited and enthusiastic about all your tasks. What went wrong? Where did the excitement and enthusiasm go? More important, how do you get them back?
If you’re feeling this way, of course, it may be a signal that it’s time for you to make some changes or to move on. On the other hand, maybe you just need to get back in touch with why you took the job in the first place.
If you’re in your own business, it may not be possible to move on, so you’ll need to learn ways to bring back the excitement. There’s nothing more depressing than to see small-business owners (or employees) who have stopped enjoying their work. These are the people who sit in their stores or offices just waiting for the day when they can retire. They feel stuck, unable to get out. They have lost their zest for their work.
If you’re one of these people just going through the motions, remember that your life is too important to let it slip by. Don’t let yourself lead a life, as Thoreau said, “of quiet desperation.”
So how can you bring back the zest? For starters, go back to your original business plan or personal journal and reread the reasons you embarked on this business or career in the first place. What were your goals? Are these reasons still valid? Do they still ring true for you today? If they do, sit quietly and get back in touch with your feelings from that time. Get the juices flowing again. Relive the experiences that led you to this place. Rekindle the flames.
If you have drifted from your original purpose, perhaps you need to rethink why you are doing the job you’re doing now. In the case of your own business, maybe you need to change or modify your original direction. This could be as simple as offering a new product or service, something that gives you passion.
Perhaps you could open new markets or venture into exporting to get your juices going again. Do something that puts the joy back in your day. Paint your store! Change your tie! Perhaps all you need to do is delegate some of the tasks you dislike and concentrate on doing what you love.
Try this simple exercise. On a sheet of paper or in your journal, complete the following two sentences:
1. What I really enjoy about my work/business is that I ______.
This could be that you have the opportunity to travel to interesting places or meet people or help others—whatever
you enjoy most.
2. The real benefit to my customers from my work is ______.
I know a building contractor whose attitude toward his work changed when he stopped thinking of himself as simply a contractor and started realizing how he helped people turn their dreams into reality. This shift had a major impact on his self-esteem and, as a result, his income.
Sometimes I run across a store that still has one of the old signs that read “Through our doors pass some of the finest people in the world. Our customers.” Maybe it’s corny, but I can’t help but feel special in a place like that.
If you are going to a job today just because you went there yesterday, you are in a danger zone. You deserve to be enthusiastic, excited and even ecstatic about your livelihood. Sometimes you have to recreate that feeling.
Remember the words of the late Norman Vincent Peale, who said that what happens to us is not nearly as important as how we interpret what happens.
Work with passion!
| Jim Donovan speaks regularly to employees and executives at small business and large corporations. He is a frequent media guest and expert source on personal development, business success, and the spiritual laws that develop both. His previous books include Handbook to a Happier Life and What Are You Waiting For? It’s Your Life. www.JimDonovan.com.
This article was excerpted from happy @ work: 60 Simple Ways to Stay Engaged and Be Successful, published by New World Library. Copyright © 2014 by Jim Donovan. Buy the book>> |
