Not Feeling Engaged at Work? Do This Before You Jump Ship.
Not feeling motivated, challenged or inspired at work? Or worse, feeling frustrated, angry, maybe even resentful most days? I’ve been there. It’s a place where you know you aren’t your best self, where it feels like your work doesn’t matter and like you’re wasting your time. It may feel like no one around you understands and it will never get better so you may be thinking you should quit, but you need the money so you have to stay miserable. You then look at other options assuming it has to be better somewhere else. But, until you find that perfect place, you feel stuck.
I’m here to break your bubble just a little bit – there is no perfect place. No matter where you work, there will always be feelings of frustration, anger, anxiety, BUT also feelings of excitement, gratitude and a world-changing spirit if you know how to find them.
When I was at my breaking point in a job, I was beyond lost and hardly knew what was going on around me. It got to the point of where I was exerting so much energy on worry, anxiety and fear that I only had enough energy to think about one hour at a time. And there were tears. Lots and lots of tears. I couldn’t make sense of things that used to make perfect sense.
The logical action to take would’ve been to find another job. So that’s what I set out to do. Easy enough, right? If my employer and my co-workers weren’t going to appreciate me and give me what I deserve, I’m definitely not giving them any more of my time! However, another bubble burster – why I was feeling so blah had less to do about my job and more to do about me.
Through that journey I learned what triggered my frustration, anger and resentment and how to navigate through those scenarios. I also realized I was giving too much power over my emotions to others in what they did or didn’t do and what they said or didn’t say. Those difficult emotions were real and needed to be felt, but the game-changing moment was when I realized I didn’t need to let them overpower me. I needed to feel them, learn from them and keep moving forward. so, how do you do this? How do you deal with the crap around you? Answer: FaithMAPS.
Within eight months of my breaking point, I received a promotion. Within a year after that, I grew my team from four to nine, taking on a second team and leading new challenging and game-changing work. More importantly, I now know when I need to take a step back and deal with my anger, frustration or anxiety and they no longer take hold and set up shop.
FaithMAPS is a set of attributes that, when put together, act as a guide for you to get back on the right track when you veer off (and you will on occasion). It’s a guide you can use as a ‘next step’ when you aren’t quite sure why you aren’t your best self or have a feeling that makes you want to give up. Faith is the foundation for it all; followed by Focus, Meaning, Action, Perspective and Spirit.
Below are questions to ask yourself to see what area needs your attention right now to get back on track.
Faith
First and foremost, you have to believe in something bigger than yourself whether it be a Higher Power, the universe, or a grand vision. With this belief, you realize the struggles, anxiety and confusion will exist but are temporary and that the right things will happen at the right time. There is meaning in the present even though we may not see it right away. You are not in this alone and it’s not all on your shoulders to solve. I believe in something larger than myself and while I sometimes question it, my Faith doesn’t completely disappear.
Self-reflective Questions:
1. What is one thing you are glad did not turn out the way you wanted it to?
2. What is something you want right now you may need to practice patience with?
3. Who do you rely on the most to manage through? Yourself or a Higher Power?
Focus
Focus is all about intentions and doing one thing at a time. The level of our distractions can be so high but you can now give yourself permission to stop multi-tasking. Healthy distractions can serve a very useful purpose so it’s important to identify the distinction. Focusing on one thing at a time also helps keep anxiety at bay when it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Once you identify the negative distractions, you can then learn how to develop healthy habits to course correct.
Self-reflective Questions:
1. What are your goals for this year, month, day or even hour? Are they aligned?
2. How do you truly spend your time?
3. Where are you spending your energy?
Meaning
After identifying what you’re doing, dig a little deeper and understand why it is or is not important. Whether it be big goals or small tasks, personal activities or work processes, reflect on what value or purpose is driving the work. If there is none, it’s time to re-evaluate.
Self-reflective Questions:
1. What is it that you enjoy about how you spend your time?
2. What is the lesson your faith is trying to teach you?
3. What is the ultimate outcome you’re hoping to achieve?
Action
Nothing happens without taking action. Plain and simple. We can only take one step at a time and sometimes one hour at a time.
Self-reflective Questions:
1. What is the next right thing to do?
2. What action have you taken so far? Why did it work or not work?
3. How long have you been “meaning to get to it”?
Perspective
How you look at a situation is a differentiator in how you navigate through it. Understand reality and give power to the positive.
Self-reflective Questions:
1. Does the same thing keep happening to you no matter where you go or who you’re with?
2. How can this roadblock help you achieve your ultimate goal?
3. How might you be able to influence the situation?
Spirit
I define spirit as the energy you put into your efforts and the strength to which you keep going. This energy comes from a place of purpose and encompasses a feeling that ‘just makes sense’. It helps to define your core values, helps you to be resilient, and gives you strength.
Self-reflective Questions:
1. What gives you strength? What takes it away?
2. How many different ways have you tried reaching one of your goals? Is it worth one more try?
3. When was the last time you were glad you didn’t give up?
There very well may be jobs or companies you do need to remove yourself from and find somewhere else to go. Only you can make that decision. What I challenge you with is this: have you tried everything you can to make this work for you? If not, give FaithMAPS a go and see what you learn.