We’ve all been there.
Can’t be bothered. Feeling demotivated. Don’t seem to care as much as we used to. Still working hard, but not feeling much better about it. Feeling unfocused. Wondering what to do. Want to do something. Not sure what. Feel stuck. Feel flat. Feel frustrated. And so on.
When work is such a big part of your life – in the way that you spend a lot of time doing it, it takes up a lot of your energy, perhaps your identity is also wrapped up in it to a certain degree, and you are conscientious enough that you continue to work despite growing feelings of fulfillment, it can be quite consuming to suddenly feel a dissonance with work.
Work means a lot to you, but you are not getting much meaning in return.
Especially if you are self-employed and running your own business, this can begin to spell disaster – you don’t have a team to fall back on, the regular salary, a manager to deliver for or a company to set your strategy and focus.
These moments happen, and sometimes they start to happen more frequently and start to feel stronger. The feelings you are experiencing are a source of intel from yourself to…..yourself. A signal that there has been a glitch and it needs to be checked out and some stuff needs to be tested and tweaked to get you back up and running.
Client story: I was working with a client who was fifteen years into his career, and a few months away from completing his MBA. The MBA had given him some time and perspective, and he didn’t want to go back to his old job that was waiting for him. Neither did he know what he was looking for, so his job search was unfocused and sporadic.
Before coaching, he was feeling: “Lost, defeated, and overwhelmed – I was unmotivated to pursue a job search due to a lack of focus, but was also dreading returning to my former employer for a multitude of reasons, including feeling like there wasn’t a “fit” with my values.”
We worked together on his values, on what was important to him, what his intentions were for himself and for his future, and whilst he was lacking motivation, I was there to hold him accountable for taking actions to make progress, until he found his mojo once again.
How did he feel after we worked together? “Very good – the coaching experience ended with my receiving an offer for an executive position at a company that I feel will meet my personal objectives and provide an opportunity for growth.”
Getting your work mojo back can start with working out what’s important to you and what makes you happy in a work sense, and also what you know will make you unhappy. Once you start to understand how you can find meaning in your work, you can start to see what needs to be done more clearly, and begin to unlock the motivation to make it happen.
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