How Did You Feel About Going Back to Work Today?

If you were excited to get started, cheers to you!! Go get ’em! If you weren’t looking forward to it, it’s time to make a shift. And do it now!

Before you get back into the routine of things, take time to design what this year will look like. Reflect on where you’ve been, examine where you want to go.

Consider this . . .

If you’re not looking forward to getting back to work ask yourself why. Is it the job? The company? The culture? A specific someone? Something else?

• If it’s the job take a look at it from the perspective of the function. Do you like the task? Do you enjoy the mechanics of it? If the answer is no, it’s time to look at an adjacent or possibly a radical career shift.
• Is it the company? Are you in a company that is growing? This can be exciting, engaging, with resources available. And for some, this is work nirvana. For others, this can mean a good deal of change and stress. Know what suits you and where you are the best fit.
• Is it the culture? Do you feel like a fish out of water? Ask yourself if you can learn something by being in a different environment or being out of your comfort zone? Or is it just a ‘wrong fit’?
• Is it a specific someone that keeps you from being excited to get back to work today? What can you do to shift the dynamics?

Whatever ‘shift’ you need to make to be excited, engaged and energized by the prospect of going to work starts with you!

Do you know the phrase, ‘Wherever you go, there you are?’ It brings to mind this question: What are you bringing to the situation?

It starts with our belief which gives direction (positive or negative) to our thinking and that is translated into a feeling. From there we are influenced to take an action (action can also be inaction by the way – not making a decision is making a decision, right?).

Is it possible the laboratory (aka: your workplace) that you are playing in is just fine and a perfect learning ground for you to create new possibilities for yourself?

Examine your beliefs and look at what shifts you can make from the inside out. From this place, see if there are shifts that need to be made from the outside in (a change of career, workplace, etc.).

Okay, but how do I do that you might be saying? Start with this: What are you believing about your work right now? Next, challenge yourself to look at that answer from two new and completely different perspectives. For example, let’s say you start with this belief . . . my workplace doesn’t provide me with an opportunity for advancement. Here are two different perspectives regarding that belief. 1) I see gaps in this company that could be filled to meet the company’s business objectives, I wonder how I could create a new role or add into my existing role, to create an exciting new opportunity for myself and help the organization? Or 2) I have seen other people get promoted, have I asked what metrics are being used to evaluate my opportunity for advancement? Better yet, I’m going to create a list of metrics and offer those as the start of the conversation to see if when I do xyz if that would allow me to advance to abc.

The concept of Belief > Thought > Feeling > Action deserves a broader and deeper exploration to be sure! For now, this simplified illustration can help you to reflect, re-examine, and make choices that set you on a great track for 2019! Happy New Year!

Make it a great day!