Leadership Traq | 3 Tips To Reignite Your Passion At Work

If you find yourself getting bored at work or increasingly uninterested in what you are doing, it’s time to turn things around—now! Otherwise, in no time flat, you will find yourself headed down the dark rabbit hole of despair. Take a serious look at why you are in your current role (and with your current team or company). Even if the job fit or choice of employer was initially quite good, it may be time to switch things up.

Perhaps you’ve made great progress in your career, driven consistently to achieve higher levels of seniority. Or, you may have experienced disappointment in your quest for the “right” career trajectory. Either way, it’s likely you were excited about your job at some point, when you felt strong and sustained desire that propelled you forward. After an extended length of time, though, it is completely natural for passion to wane. However, you must remember there is always someone behind you wanting to make an impact. If you stutter too long, you may be passed by.

Don’t let yourself feel too discouraged! At this point, you may simply need to admit things have become stale, you have slipped into a state of boredom, or you have become increasingly afraid to take chances. Once you analyze how you arrived at this stage, you may find your current role is completely salvageable, and you simply need to reignite the fire that once burned inside you so brightly.

3 Ways to Reignite Your Passion

Take time for yourself. This is an area overlooked constantly by many of the executives with whom I work. It is rejuvenating when you take time to do those non-work activities you enjoy. We all need healthy doses of “me-time.” If you have ignored yourself for too long, the net effect will be a decline in work energy. Step up your work game by stepping out of the office for something fun.
Try something new. Anything. You don’t need to jump out of a plane or swim with sharks, but go to that painting or guitar class, try fishing, or learn to dance. Our ability to learn and grow is one of the hallmark blessings of being human! This could be your ideal time to learn a couple of new skills. As simple or short-term as it may be, this new activity will often spark creativity in other areas of your life.
Up level Your Circle. Take every opportunity to learn your craft from the masters. Be sensitive to those people from whom you derive your understanding of life, learning, meaning, and inspiration. Choose your influences very carefully. What informs you, forms you, and your primary work outputs and creations will ultimately be a result of what, and who, is forming you.

Without passion, we are useless—little more than mindless automatons. With passion, however, we are walking, talking “magicians,” carrying with us the divine power to create, change, and transform everywhere we go. Commit yourself to reigniting the fire inside, and you will undoubtedly rediscover the magic that makes your career sing.

Pour your heart into personal growth at work, and you will sense more clearly whether it’s time to move on to a new role, or merely time for new perspective. If the heart represents your fire, it’s passion that lights the match. Bringing your best self to work is not just a gift to your boss or your company—it’s also a gift to yourself. Untie the bow.

Mark Nation is a globally-recognized management expert, leadership consultant, executive coach, author, and speaker. He is personally driven to discover what makes individuals, teams, and organizations amazing—those elements which power the heart and soul of individuals and businesses worldwide. His new book, Made forAmazing: An Instrumental Journey of Authentic Leadership Transformation, helpspeople to identify and optimize their unique talents.