You likely loved the work you were doing when you first started. You felt like you were going after your passion. It didn’t just feel like going to work; it felt like you were doing what you were meant to do. But somewhere along the way, you lost that feeling. What you used to love started to feel like nothing more than a job—and one that you dreaded doing. If you can relate, it’s time to learn how to restore your happiness as a business leader.
If you feel disconnected from your work, experience the Sunday Scaries, or just lost that loving feeling for your work, the following tips can help.
1. Reconnect with your values, purpose, and mission
We feel alive when our work aligns with our values and purpose. But the further away our job moves from those values, or the more we lose focus of our values, purpose, and mission, the worse our jobs feel. That’s why one of the first things we can do to fall in love with our work again is to remember how it aligns with the things that matter most to us.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What was my ‘why’ when I first got started?
- What are my personal values and how can they show up in the work I do?
- How can I reconnect with the mission of the company?
- What are your personal goals and how can they connect with your work?
The answers to these questions can be very telling. They may help you rediscover the enjoyment you originally had for your job. The answers to the questions may help you find what changes you need to make in your thoughts or actions to find joy in your work once again. Or, for some of you, the answers may make it clear that it’s time to make some major changes to your role, position, or organization.
Taking the time to reflect on these questions will help you move from dreading work to rediscovering your enjoyment of it.
2. Set boundaries for work-life balance
There is no secret formula for work-life balance even though there are many articles online that try to make you believe that. Our lives—personally and professionally—are constantly changing. In order to keep things feeling as balanced as possible, it’s crucial to make adjustments as needed.
Sometimes, your work life is going to need extra attention. But if you allow work to consume the majority of your time for too long, you’re going to burnout. And trust me, no matter how much you liked your job at the beginning, you’re not going to feel happy about it when you hit the point of burnout.
Have you been burning the candle at both ends? No wonder why you aren’t feeling happy like you used to.
Our bodies are designed to operate best when we take the necessary time to rest and recharge. So, start intentionally blocking time off your calendar to enjoy your personal life. Spend time with family and friends. Rediscover an old hobby you forgot about or learn a new one. Make time for things you enjoy that help you feel your best.
And, while we’re at it, take care of yourself. Make healthy eating choices (but allow yourself to enjoy in moderation.) Make time to exercise, go for a walk, ride your bike, swim, or stretch. Get enough sleep most nights. Take breaks from your digital devices. Layoff the alcohol if you’ve been overdoing it.
You are one whole person, so happiness at work can’t really happen if you’re unhappy with your personal life.
3. Adapt a growth mindset
A growth mindset plays an important role as you restore your happiness as a business leader. It’s not easy to keep a positive mindset and be happy when you feel stuck. And a fixed mindset will keep you stuck and feeling like you’re running up against a brick wall over and over again.
A growth mindset helps you reframe how you see failure and how you navigate setbacks and obstacles. When you feel empowered to continue growing and developing, it suddenly becomes easier to believe that good things are possible, which is important for feeling happy.
As you shift from a fixed to growth mindset, you’ll notice that you start to enjoy the process and work you do more instead of always looking for joy out of the outcomes that you receive. Challenges become more exciting to face because you can tap into your creativity to look for new ways to overcome them.
4. Change who you’re spending time with
Remember when your mom used to be so concerned about who your friends were because she didn’t wan you around bad influences? Or what about the Jim Rohn quote, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”?
If you spend a lot of time with negative people, it will be difficult to restore your happiness as a business leader. Choose those you let into your inner circle closely.
If you’re dealing with a lot of naysayers, intentionally seek out people who speak positive to you and about you.
If you’re not sure where to find someone like this in the business world. work with a business coach. Not only will you find a positive influence for your personal and professional life, but you’ll also discover new ways to grow your business.
Be intentional about who you network with at events. Seek out new connections with those who are exceling in their industries, even if they don’t have a direct connection for your business.
5. Be grateful and celebrate the successes (big and small)
While our circumstances can impact our level of happiness, happiness is also a choice. Maybe, it’s not really that you’re unhappy with work, maybe you’ve just been focusing on the wrong things.
When our schedules get really busy, it’s easy to move from one task to the next without taking time to celebrate our successes or think about what we’re grateful for. If this is happening in your life, it’s likely stealing your joy. You’re overlooking the good things happening around you so you can focus on the next thing coming down the pipeline.
Likely you didn’t begin doing this on purpose. It’s not that you don’t want to seem grateful or that you don’t care about the successes you and your team experience, there are just new things constantly demanding your attention. But before long, this becomes the habit and how you operate and you find yourself not enjoying what you do because it never feels like enough.
Take time to celebrate the things that are going well. Intentionally think of what you’re thankful for each day, and then take it a step further and share it with the people involved.
Remember your actions impact your team
Taking time to restore your happiness won’t only help you; it will help your team as well. The chances are good that your team, and those around you like your family, will notice that you aren’t as happy any more before you’ll notice it. It’s easy to get so caught up in what you’re doing that you don’t notice you’re not as happy doing it until you’re pretty far in.
Stop trying to just push through. Instead, take time to make adjustments to like and enjoy what you do once again. It will be a positive change for you, your team, your family and friends.
If you’ve lost the enjoyment in your work, it may be time to work with a Spearity business coach. Reach out today to explore the best options to get back on the right track.
“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” – Sean Patrick Flanery
