Remember the giddy excitement of starting something new? Sometimes, with the routine and monotony of our working lives, it’s hard to hold onto the passion - even if we’re working in what used to be our dream jobs. And sometimes, practicalities of life boil a job down to merely a paycheck you need to make sure you’re meeting you and your family’s needs. 

The old adage of, ‘choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life’ may be an attractive one, but for many people, maintaining passion in your career is a hard one. That’s why we’ve compiled a few things you can start incorporating into your routine to make you rekindle the old passion once more and start going to work with a new bounce in your step. 

1 - Reflect on how far you’ve come 

As the daily grind overtakes our lives, it’s hard at times to keep track exactly of our personal and professional development, but truth is, the person you are today is very different from the person you started as. With every passing day, and every new challenge at work, new skills have been picked up and existing soft skills developed. Working with colleagues, all with different personalities and working styles, is a great area of growth in social skills and emotional intelligence skills. Take a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come and the different projects you’ve worked on, the different tasks you’ve overseen, the different people you’ve had to manage. Remember - the skills you develop in your workplace are not just the official ones written in the job description!

2 - Change up your day 

We may be creatures of habit, but there’s no surer way to kill passion and creativity than routine. That’s why we recommend you change things up and break the routine. Start your day off differently - try a new hot drink instead of your usual, take an alternative route to work, tackle your to-do list from the bottom up. If you normally start the working day by checking up on emails, replace it with another task, maybe an in-person debrief with the team. If you have lunch at your desk, consider taking it in the canteen or elsewhere. By changing things up, you inject a sense of possibility back into your life and you don’t go about your job on autopilot.

3 - Support colleagues in projects you’re interested in

Don’t be hesitant to get involved in projects you think you can add value to or believe would provide you with new skills. Speak to your colleagues about new projects and existing workloads, and touch base with your manager. Most workplaces are short-staffed and happy for employees to support each other where possible. Chances are, you’ve been doing your role for some time and you’re a lot more efficient than when you started. This means you can be more flexible with your time and support elsewhere. Some jobs also offer training and rotations within - speak to your manager and see if you can shift your workload in some way to allow for more professional development. 

4 - Make note of the high notes

Not everyday is exciting and not every moment is dull. There may be a particular moment in the week that you approach slightly differently than others. It could be a particular meeting, or a task, or even a conversation with a colleague. Try to be more mindful of the moment, understand the underlying reason of what it is that makes this particular moment better than the others. Do you feel more challenged? Is it a task that comes easily and more naturally to you? Pay attention to what you consider is the peak of your day, and spend some time on why that is.   

5 - Recognise that passion is fluid

Passion is not a tangible object or eternal state of being. It comes and goes, increases at some points, evolves at others. We need to take a look inwards and understand that passion is closer to the little moments of joy that energise us. By knowing and accepting that what gives us this sense of passion is not absolute, we can approach our jobs slightly differently. For some people, the journey towards a specific goal energises them, that’s their passion. Reaching the goal in this instance doesn’t make it the final destination - a new goal needs to be identified, and with it, new passion.

Make sure to check out our social media to keep track of the latest content.

Instagram - @qatarlivingjobs

Twitter - @qljobs

Facebook - Qatar Living Jobs

LinkedIn - Qatar Living Jobs

Cover Image Credits: Unsplash, John Schnobrich

Inline Image Credits: Unsplash