We’ve all experienced the work ‘blahs’; that feeling when you have to drag yourself to work and spend the whole day counting the minutes until you can leave. It’s difficult to stay motivated and even the most get-up-and-go employees experience the occasional slump. There are many ways for you to rekindle the spark and be the happy, motivated, energized dynamo of change that we know you are.
Set goals
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” Arnold H. Glasgow
Not knowing where you are headed will certainly make you feel like your life has no direction or purpose. You need to clearly define your goals. Start with your work goals and discuss your future with your manager. You should both have a plan for where you are going in the next couple of years. Set career goals that are realistic, but challenging.
Set personal goals too; knowing which direction your personal development will take can help to motivate you. Perhaps you want to learn a new skill in order to get a promotion, or you want to change your career altogether. Improving your skill set is the best way to move forward and feel like you are getting somewhere.
Have well-defined goals for the short and long term and remember; your options are limited only by your imagination. You are a capable, talented firecracker and you can achieve anything you set your mind to!
Map out your game plan
“Goals are dreams with deadlines.” Diana Scharf Hunt
Larger goals may seem too intimidating and it’s easy to put them off indefinitely. Break down each goal into a series of manageable steps. If you want to learn a new skill, for example, start by taking a single class towards a new qualification until you gain more momentum; you’ll be amazed at just how capable you are!
Create a custom application or online database that maps your plan and your progress. Re-evaluate your progress regularly and make changes to the plan as necessary. Reward your successes; every time you fulfill the next step in your career plan, make sure you bask in your own awesomeness and reward yourself. Rewards help to positively reinforce your goals and motivate you to persevere.
Stay Positive
“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” Author Unknown
My sister started working at her dream job just over a year ago. She loved it and gushed about new projects, the great office morale and how wonderful her colleagues were. Her office mate was not as enthusiastic and she would often comment on his constant negativity towards a job he clearly hated. His insidious negativity began to change her perceptions and soon she also began to complain about things at work. A year later, she started applying for other positions.
When she couldn’t find an equitable position, I reminded her of how she had felt about her job a year earlier and that she was doing what she wanted in life in an office environment that was much nicer than most people enjoyed. She decided to change offices and, every time she caught herself speaking or thinking negatively, she would stop and remind herself of all the things she liked about her job. She set new goals with her manger and before long, she was back to being her happy, enthusiastic and driven self.
Always keep a positive frame of mind, even in the face of adversity. Believing in your abilities and your goals will help you to move through your slump and achieve the happiness and success you so richly deserve. If you are in a job you don’t enjoy and have no prospect of set yourself a release date, and work towards getting yourself better qualified so that you can find your dream job. Spend some time deciding on what you want to do with your life (it’s never too late!) and then start the process of making it so.
