Fall (Back) In Love With Your Job

What’s on my mind this month? How to fall back in love with your job.?

I think it goes without saying, your professional career is somewhat like a relationship. In the early stages it’s the honeymoon period, you find things interesting, you’re curious all the time and you feel mentally stimulated/challenged. However, as time goes on you start to notice things that may get under your skin and over time, resentment builds because these things continue with no sign of anything changing. So, the question becomes how can you change your mindset to fall back in love with your professional life so you can increase your satisfaction and start enjoying your days again??

The first step is to write down what you value in a workplace. This could be team culture, refined processes, a clear career pathway - anything! Ask yourself the question, what makes a great workplace for you? Then assess whether your current workplace or career in general meets these values. If your values aren’t aligned, then it’s important to assess your next steps. Value alignment, much like any relationship is integral to success.?

Secondly, write down what you’re feeling negative about and organise it into whether it’s something that can be changed or whether it’s out of your control. If it’s something that can be changed, you can talk to your team or manager about the right steps to increase your satisfaction. However, if it’s something outside of your control, assess whether it’s a value alignment or whether you need to shift your mindset to make it enjoyable again.?

I think it’s important for everyone to understand that they won’t always enjoy every aspect of their role, however, if you come at things with a positive attitude it can shift the whole experience. I know throughout owning a company there have been many times where I questioned my skill set, whether I created something I enjoy or even if the field was the right choice for me - and I’ll likely keep questioning it! I try to focus on the things I enjoy more than the things I don't. For example, leadership is something I thrive in - I love looking outwards into where we can go, versus management is not something that particularly tickles my fancy. Giving critical feedback or focusing on the mundane day-to-day is not the most joyous thing to do, but I understand that to get the thing I love (leadership) I need to also do the thing I don’t (management). It’s the trade-off.?

Thirdly, write down what you enjoy outside of work. This might be the outdoors, exercise, baking - anything really. From here, you can work to incorporate these things back into your daily life. Make time to do the things you enjoy. Our working lives take up so much of our time, that when we stop doing the things we enjoy, we blame our jobs (which is fair) but living a life where you feel negative about where you spend most of your time won’t have any positive outcome on anyone. It’s all about how you frame it in your mind.