Enthusiasm is the greatest asset you can possess, for it can take you further than money, power or influence.
Dada Vaswani
You’re staring through the window, then mindlessly at the computer screen, then at the clock. You feel empty inside and rather bored. Something is painfully missing and that thing is called enthusiasm. Enthusiasm comes from passion for what you do. No passion may mean a burn-out. Stress not, there are ways to relight your fire!
- Track down the problem
Indentify what makes you feel deflated at work. Do you feel like you are squashed under your workload and responsibilities? Are working relationships far from peaceful? Is someone stealing your inner peace at work? Are there major problems with no satisfactory solutions in place yet? Think on paper. List it all. Identify. Analyse. Change.
- Delegate
As a senior manager you can transfer some tedious and menial tasks to people who are competent and familiar with the work. If there’s a task you hate, think if it’s possible to delegate it to someone in your Team who may otherwise do a better job. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
- Take a break
Prolonged stress wears out your body, weakens your immune system and eventually manifests itself in illnesses and mental breakdowns. Although it may seem that your busy schedule doesn’t leave room for a break, it is possible to fit in a few hours, days, or even a couple of weeks off if you really want to. Rejuvenate your body and soul. Rest. Recharge. Have some fun. Repeat. Think that your success at work depends on it. It’s hard for anyone to keep up with what they enjoy doing if they are in poor health. Such lack of energy and motivation leads straight to a loss of interest for their work.
- Engage a Career Coach
Coaching can help you to see the bigger picture and help you to smooth out that love-hate relationship you have with your work. An experienced, inspirational and positive mentor will work with you to indentify all underlying issues and find working solutions to your problems. A good mentor understands the ups and downs of an executive career therefore can guide you in the right direction. They can open your eyes to see possibilities when you thought there were none. It’s similar to networking but one-to-one sessions can be more in-depth and personal. If you’re interested please have a look at our coaching approach which can help you to achieve your perfect career balance.
- Mentor
Do you remember how dedicated you were when you first started? How you were so keen to get to grips with the role? Such memories will probably return when you’re mentoring someone new about your work. When you look at the young twenty-something with certain eagerness in his or her eyes as he or she tries to learn from you, you’ll see yourself some years back.
- Embrace Challenge
If you keep doing the same thing over and over again in the same way you’ll be bored. You will feel like a hamster in a wheel and your work will lose meaning. To stimulate your mind try breaking away from these routines to explore and experiment with different ways of doing your job. Be a bit more daring and creative. Think how you can improve certain areas of your work. This will generate a feeling of excitement. You know what you want. You know what is missing. Now you must take action. Ask your boss for new projects and assignments or seek them out yourself if you work alone.
- Break a Sweat
Regular exercise is good for your mind and body. It can be your secret weapon to rekindle your passion for work. When you exercise, your body releases feel-good brain chemicals. That has a positive effect on your mood. Try to squeeze in a workout during lunch or hit the gym immediately after work and you’ll soon see the benefits!
Which of these ideas will you incorporate into your life this week?
If you’d like more career guidance and support we are here to share our expertise. We are just a call away.
