‘If you do what you love, you‘ll never work a day in your life.’ – Marc Anthony
It’s a nice idea, but not strictly true. Many of us started out with a passion. But over time, even the most exciting of jobs or businesses can become monotonous and we can lose that initial enthusiasm and energy that we started out with. If you think back now, are you as enthusiastic as you were when you started out. Or, do you find yourself in the day to day feeling as though you’re constantly firefighting.
In my work, I often hear things like ‘I’m spending all my time on day to day problems’, ‘I don’t have any time to think about the future’, ‘I’ve lost focus with where I am going with this’, ‘it feels hard work’.
This has increased somewhat over the last year when new challenges and uncertainty have been at the forefront of everyone’s minds, with work based on what is needed to get through.
If this resonates, or if you feel as though you have lost your why and your drive for your business or career, then you are certainly not alone.
It’s important to pause and reflect on why you are feeling this way?
- Is your work too stressful?
- Is your to do list overwhelming?
- Are you removed from the bits of your job you find exciting?
- Are you spending too much time managing your team and tied up with daily problem solving?
When we get bogged down by the day-to-day, we can lose sight of why we started out in the first place.
Like in any long-term relationship, keeping that passion alive is the strand that many struggle with, but it’s the key to great leadership.
When we lose our passion or sight of our purpose, then our work feels like a job. We can feel lethargic, tired and unmotivated, which affects our ability to lead effectively. Whilst it’s not obvious, people see this. And without it being obvious it can filter through to our team. Causing a decrease in team morale, which then affects both your team and customers
A great leader cannot lead effectively if they have lost sight of why they are doing it. Therefore, taking the steps to reconnect with your why and purpose is so important.
When you reconnect with your purpose, you will find it renews your motivation. You will feel more fulfilled as you are not just ticking off a to-do list. And, it will help you lead passionately and inspirationally.
The result of this is that you will attract the right people to you. People follow you and your passion because they can connect with a deeper meaning beyond just getting the job done.
I would even go so far as to say that it’s ok to be honest about what you are dealing with. Great leadership is about sharing the lows and struggles and the successes and achievements. It’s real, and when you overcome tough times, it inspires others to see what’s possible.
So how do we reconnect with that passion?
- Start with self-awareness. If something feels off, or you have a feeling that something is not working, you need to look at what that is.
- Spend some time exploring what is driving you? It may differ from what it was a few years ago, as humans we change and grow. If you were driven by income and you have reached that goal, then what’s going to reignite that passion?
- Do you need to set bigger goals? Have bigger dreams? Or is it that you need to find another purpose for your role, is it in helping others succeed, being a part of something important in society such as providing opportunity for others?
- Has your business grown so much that you are removed from the parts you were passionate about so have lost your drive for it? This is common, and maybe you need to readdress how you spend your time so you can get closer to the bits you love.
- Do you need to hand over part of the job to someone else? Outsourcing or empowering and delegating so that you are not bogged down by day-to-day duties will free up your time to focus on the bits you love.
- Do you need to work with someone to help you rediscover your passion? There are a myriad of leadership and business coaches and mentors who can work with you on this. Because they are not ‘in’ your business, they can often see things which you cannot.
- Or maybe you need to change your business, maybe it’s just not something you are passionate about anymore? This can be scary, especially if your business has grown.
A few years ago, I had lost my passion for what I was doing. I did not really know what else it was I wanted to do. It was during some NLP training that I realised my passion. Which was about helping others succeed, building confidence, helping leaders to hone their leadership skills and business owners to build their business and team.
If you have lost your passion or need to discover what that is then book a call and we can have a chat