What to do when you fall out of love with your work and steps to fall in love with your work all over again.
Any form of relationship has a honeymoon phase. Whether you are starting a new relationship, a new line of work or a new job, you step into a honeymoon phase where it is all new, exciting and fresh. All your senses become activated.
A honeymoon phase can last forever. It’s up to you.
Neuroscience has observed that when the mind is conscious during the honeymoon phase, we are being present and mindful in that very moment. We are conscious about
- what we say
- what we do
- how we look
- how we behave
- and in control of our actions.
There is research that also states we only use 5% of our conscious mind on a daily basis, which means that 95% of the day our unconscious mind is running our life. Most of our decisions, actions, emotions and behaviours depend on the programs that we run through the day in our unconscious mind. These are potential roadblocks.
For you to really get a grasp of this, think back to a time when you first fell in love with an individual, a project, a job or work. What happened? You were motivated, you were passionate and you were excited – you had drive.
Now think back…
- How flexible were you?
- What was your level of understanding?
- How much tolerance did you exhibit?
- Then what happened?
You allowed those things that initially didn’t faze you drain your energy and become a constant bug for you. That was your point of focus. You allowed them to become a distraction, draining your time and energy, which led to a lack of commitment and activities towards what was once your wonderful relationship (honeymoon phase), whether it was an individual or work.
Honeymoon phase is over
This is when you start to think – ‘I am not sure if this is for me anymore’; you start feeling doubtful and all you seem to see is the relationships – both personal and professional – drain you or upset you. Your honeymoon phase is over. However, you can rebuild and create your honeymoon phase all over again with a bit of focus.
How do you love your work again and fall in love with it all over again?
Reignite your spark
What are the things that you most like about your job? Write a list of the work that you find most rewarding; you are bound to rekindle that lost passion or love.
For some, the excitement stems from a new relationship or job that can make you feel on top of the world. There was that element of surprise or the unknown. If that was what sparked your love and passion – find a new skill that will assist with your personal growth or get involved in a project that is new for you.
Reignite your spark by bridging the gap from who you are today to where you want to be and devote purely to you and your development; this will give you a chance to reconnect with who you once were and discover a whole host of additional skills and resources at your fingertips.
Brain stimulation
Staying intellectually stimulated is essential; be aware that this new job or relationship had to make you think differently. Whether it was new conversations or the processes were completely new to you, it was exciting. Like with any activity, initially it is conscious; you have to focus on that very task. Sometimes it can take you up to six months to get your head around it, but the challenge is refreshing.
Over time, your mind moves from conscious to unconscious. With repetition it becomes habitual and that can lead to a mundane feeling. Finding ways to stimulate your creative mind is one way to start to stimulate your brain. All you have to do is think of different ways to improve what you do. Keep a notebook and pen with you at your desk and brainstorm. This is how successful companies create new and wonderful ideas; they pause and plan for them. The mind is always seeking to make sense of the things that it sees and make it something else, so let your creativity do its magic.
Stretch yourself
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Don’t get stuck doing the same old, same old. Seek something new in this relationship or job. As human beings we are creatures of habit and we like to have some control over what happens next, so we are usually drawn to routine and reliability.
Successful people are always challenging themselves. They understand that when things become repetitive, predictable and ordinary, our expectations also drop and we no longer live a life that’s bold, brave and exciting. Keep things interesting and fun. Your relationship or job may become habitual but the key is to be spontaneous with your actions.
Take more risks. There will be times of uncertainty and that’s okay, have fun with it and be conscious throughout your day so to keep loving your work and remain in that honeymoon phase.
