I have a question for you.
How in Love are you? And I am not talking about your personal life, although I care about that.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your Love for your job?
Is it a 3? or 6? Payday, now that’s a 10! You maybe say, Lisa, it depends on the day.
In our life, we choose a career, or a job chooses us, and we move through different life stages of that career, sometimes without a ton of self-examination or reflection on whom we have become and how we can continue to grow in the direction of our life’s ambitions and dreams.
For some of us, Work can be a calling; for others a way to cover our expenses. Wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to experience fulfillment each day?
It becomes easier when you work alongside those you love and appreciate. When you think about it, we spend more time each day, on average eight hours, with our co-workers than our partners or spouses.
I also understand that just like our love life, we can sometimes fall in and out of Love in our work life. We sometimes look for a little spark to remind us why we do what you do each day.
I started to reflect on my role at my company and why I have spent the last 36 years loving what I do. For me, it comes down to learning. I learn from those I work with, the clients I have had the pleasure of helping, and those I coach.
This week reminded me why I love what I do and what excites me daily. We recently hired three new account executives. Their role is to help companies with marketing and sales. For them, this is their first job out of college or their second year in the business world. I aim to identify where they are today and strategically coach them to achieve their goals and dreams. Plus, I want to do it in less time than it took me to achieve my goals.
I must be patient and understand that great relationships require listening, honesty, support, and time. What a gift to impact another person’s life and income, and that takes commitment.
I recommend you do the same. Take the time to reflect and discover or rediscover why you do what you do. Please think about your career and your role each day for your company. Maybe the flame has recently dimmed, and you need to recommit yourself to the relationship. Or you may realize that you need something else to fulfill you.
Here are a five strategies to put romance into your career.
Love yourself
Recognize what you are doing right. You have to love yourself first before you can love someone else. Identify what you’re bringing each day to the relationship. In any great relationship, acknowledging the other person’s efforts is critical to developing more appreciation and Love. If there are areas you are struggling with, look for places you can make progress, this will give you the energy and confidence to keep going.
The intention with Attention
Be intentional with your day. Create an intention for the day overall (e.g., staying connected; being present; being of value; collaborating. Write down what you will do today to live your intention with Attention. Then at the end of the day, evaluate: How did you do? Where did you succeed? What got in the way? How did you overcome it?
Connect with others
Relationships are about connecting with someone else. Devote time in your day to connect with others on your team. It can be asking someone to lunch or a happy hour after Work. Suppose you’re still working remotely; set up a virtual lunch and a time after Work to connect for dinner or drinks. Call a co-worker if your working remotely to say hi and see how they are doing. These conversations may help you love your job in a new way. The goal is to get to know someone new. You never know what you will discover.
Learn something new
You may be bored and uninspired if you have been doing the same job or tasks for years. Challenge yourself by learning something new and exciting.
Offer to help out a different department. Volunteer to take on new responsibilities. Take a new course to advance your skills. Find a mentor or hire a coach to talk about your future path. Whatever you do, make sure it is interesting to you. It will help you look at your role in a new light.
Boredom will never help you love your job, but being excited about something new will.
Set new goals. Goals are the benchmarks you review for the progression of your career. Without them, we often feel directionless and unmotivated.
Goals help you drive your career forward. They can be the exact change you need to love your job. If you are currently working without clear goals, it’s time to change that.
Some relationships end
Be honest with yourself and know when the relationship is over. It’s no one’s fault. You can have bad days and weeks, but you can’t have bad months. It takes courage and strength to realize that this career opportunity has taken you as far as you can go. It may be time to try something new.
I know that life is short and that if you spend eight hours a day working, make sure that Work inspires you!
If you think someone could benefit from this, I invite you to share it.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.