A few people have jobs with a culture that provides for plenty of purpose behind what they do every day at work. I think of the folks working at St. Jude Research Hospital. Every person from maintenance to the CEO can say the end result of what they are doing is to help cure childhood cancer. That is a strong motivator and banner to rally behind.
But about the rest of us? What can we do when work becomes mundane, rote and at times pretty meaningless? It can be a challenge to remain motivated to give it our best day in and day out.
Bored With Success?
Maybe you have had lots of success and built something you are really proud of, but it is no longer a challenge. I ran across this quote the other day, “Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure,” GK Chesterton. Sometimes the luxury of too much free time and overindulgence can be empty. Boredom can be dangerous. (https://ballingerexecutivecoaching.com/thinking/is-boredom-dangerous/)
What can you do to get excited about what you do and maybe even become passionate about it?
Try Excellence
Try to get really good at what you do. I think you will find passion follows proficiency and excellence. There are really passionate pipefitters out there, but it is not because they started that way. It developed as they got really good at what they did and had some success.
Before You Leave…
Some will choose to look around to find greener pastures. Some of the smartest people I know tend to get bored and want a change about every two years. This can work out if the moves are within the same company but if your resume shows multiple stops without a good long run it can be concerning to a prospective employer. Similar to the challenges the transfer portal has brought to college athletics, it can be tough to create a cohesive team and build for long term success when your best people move on every couple of years.
Even if you do wind up leaving, I would like to challenge you in the meantime to make where you are today more meaningful.
10 Thing
Here are 10 things to consider:
- Get to know someone new at work and go to lunch – building community makes work more fun
- Look for people to appreciate – gratitude makes you feel better
- Mentor someone else – focusing on pouring into others will bless you
- Find a mentor – everyone needs perspective
- Review your company’s mission and values to look for inspiration
- Write your own personal mission statement – I have a pdf with some ideas on how to get started…just let me know if you would like me to send it
- Take some assessments to understand yourself at your core (DISC, Enneagram, Working Genius…)
- Take a course either already provided by your company to develop you or on your own to start growing again – my personal favorite is here: https://ballingerexecutivecoaching.com/online-course/
- Set some goals that are measurable and strive to improve 1% every week – you will be 50% better within a year
- Ask for feedback on what it is like to work with you – people will be more forthcoming if you ask for input on how you could become a little better (here is a short video on getting feedback: https://youtu.be/uv4mLcvQN58)
There is not much downside and lots of upside from this list. Pick one or two things and give them a try today.
I’d love to hear your ideas to add to this list as well.
