Q. I've been in a career funk for the last year. I used to feel like I was passionate about my job now I feel like I just go through the motions. How can I get my mojo back?
A. You are being challenged by your boredom to redefine yourself within your career. When we've done the same job for a while, we become highly competent and bored. Our work becomes habitual, repetitious and predictable. Our brain stops growing, our hearts stop growing up and our spirits become confined by our role.
We then end up in a career crisis because human beings love safety but safety leads to stagnation. The only way out of becoming increasingly dissatisfied is to ask ourselves some hard questions like:
1) What would you do right now if you knew you couldn't fail?
2) Who would you be mad at if you had everything you wanted?
3) If you could wave a magic wand, what life would you live right now?
4) What changes do you need to make to go after the life you just described?
5) What help or tools do you need to have this life?
6) Are you willing to fight for yourself to have this life?
At this point, most of us will notice an interesting internal battle between our affection for routine and our need for fresh air in our jobs. I never recommend my clients make abrupt changes because you can end up paralyzed with fear if you change everything all at once. Instead, start with a small change.
Take a class in something that has always fascinated you. Make a friend that is different from the people you usually know. Travel to somewhere completely alien to you. Read biographies of people you envy.
Most importantly, take the time to let yourself daydream without shooting down your ideas as unrealistic. At the core of every daydream you have is a brilliant idea that would enrich your life. When we throw the daydream out as impossible, we don't let our minds stretch in new directions.
Befriend your boredom as a signal from your deeper self that you are ready to expand who you are on and off the job. We often avoid uncomfortable feelings. If we lean into our anxiety, anger, hurt or boredom, we will discover the parts of ourselves that know how to live the life we always wanted. Unfortunately, these selves are always buried underneath numbness or painful emotions.
We often think when we're emotionally upset that something is wrong with us. The truth is, being upset is information about what is right with us -- if we listen and take action on what we hear.