When Career Passion Fades

Let’s face it – at some point, you may start to feel a bit different about your job. Whatever it was that once excited you to get out of bed and turn on your laptop just suddenly doesn’t do it for you anymore. While it may seem that this feeling happened suddenly, I can almost guarantee you that you evolved to this state gradually. It certainly didn’t happen overnight.

However, the moment you do realize that you’re just not into your job anymore, the feeling intensifies. The little things about your job that you once brushed off now equates to hearing nails on a chalkboard. When projects start going wrong, you no longer respond with a ‘can do’ attitude – rather, you start to feel frustration into oblivion. You may even schedule some extra days off simply because you just can’t deal with doing your job at the moment.

 Does any of this sound familiar? If so, then I’m here to tell you that you may have lost your spark. And honestly, you’re not the first person to have ever wanted something new in your professional life. These things happen and comes with the burden of being an adult with an adult job.

So, what’s next?

Admit to yourself that you’re going through the motions. 

Admitting is the first step – which is likely what sparked (see what I did there?) your interest in reading this article! You can try to fight it and even deny how you’re feeling. But if all the signs are there, then what’s there to lose in admitting to yourself that your feelings towards your job have changed?

There’s no need to make a grand public proclamation – unless that’s your thing. Rather, admitting to yourself that you feel a certain way can really help shift your motivation into figuring out what’s next. It’s like how some people thrive on positive words of affirmation. Our words to ourselves really do have great power. If you consistently lie to yourself to ‘trick’ your brain into liking your job, well, you’re more likely to remain in your current situation without resolving for what you truly desire.

Don’t feel ashamed. 

If you’re feeling ashamed, spend some time doing a self-reflection on why you’re feeling ashamed to no longer want to be in a space that no longer serves you. We all have our reasons for why we may feel ashamed about something. But we really do owe it to ourselves to stand 10 toes down on being OK with no longer feeling the joy that once came with doing our job. If you’re still at the ‘shame’ phase, then I want you to reflect on and answer the following questions: 

1.     What specific beliefs or expectations do I hold about career stability, and how do they influence my feelings about change?

2.    Am I internalizing others’ opinions or societal norms about success? If so, how are these external influences shaping my perception of my decision?

3.    Have I given myself permission to redefine success on my own terms, and how might embracing this new definition impact my sense of shame?

Get to the root-case of what got you to this point. 

I personally love a good root-case analysis! In my opinion, it’s truly the impetus in going from problem to solution. Essentially, something transpired in your job/career that got you to this point. It could be something large, or it could be something small. If could be one thing, or it could be a lot of little things.

Embarking on this level of introspection really helps set the stage for what’s next. For example, if you lost your spark because your role evolved from 20% time away from home to 80% time away from home, it would behoove you to not enter into a new situation that’ll literally require being away from home most of the week. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is quite literally the definition of insanity. Let’s not be insane!

While the example I gave may seem like an obvious root-cause for someone to have realized on their own, it’s really not! On the contrary, we can sometimes overlook what’s causing our trouble and therefore have to reallytake a moment to reflect on what got us here. And in some cases, the thing that we thought made us resent our jobs is actually just the by-product of the real issue.

 Spend some time reflecting on answering the following questions:

1.     What external pressures or changes (e.g., workload, company culture, personal circumstances) may be contributing to my diminishing passion for my career?

2.    Do I feel aligned with my core values and purpose in my current career, or have they shifted in ways that no longer fit?

3.    How have my expectations of success, achievement, or happiness evolved, and does my current career path support this new vision?

Decide if you need a new job or whether your root-cause could be resolved. 

You truly can’t get to this step without having completed the prior step – so be sure to have gotten to the bottom of your root-cause because you’ll need it for this step! After defining the root-cause of your spark-loss woes, you’ll find yourself in one of two buckets:

Bucket 1 : There’s no resolve for your root-cause and therefore, it’s time to find a new role.

If we could have everything go our way at work, we’d feel that the world would be a better place. However, there’s some stuff about work-life that we just can’t resolve. Some uphill battles become never-ending battles despite how much you try to fight the system. Having been on both the IC and management side of the house, I can truly attest to this! If the root-cause of why you’ve lost your spark about your job cannot be resolved, whether it's a matter of business rules or because there’s no change management support, then it’s likely time for you to move on to new opportunities. Your next opportunity doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s time to hit the job boards searching for your next role – although it could mean that. Rather, it could be as simple as finding a new opportunity within your current company. But of course, if there’s nothing internal that tickles your fancy then yea, it’s time to polish the ol’ resume get to searching for what’s next.

Circling back to the job travel example – let’s say that the 80% travel is really doing a number on your personal life and you simply can’t keep it up. If your role has a hard requirement for significant travel due to the need to engage with customers 1:1, then it sounds like you have a root-cause that can’t be resolved – assuming that your manager is unable to modify the rules to suit your needs.

Bucket 2 – Your root-cause could actually be resolved with the support of your manager.

Having the possibility of fixing whatever the ‘thing’ is that caused you to lose your spark can be a “good thing” assuming that you’re willing to put in the effort to make the necessary changes. This may require having a difficult conversation with someone. This may require a slow execution in the resolution. Or, it could be as simple as asking for things to be different and immediately getting the changes you desire. I’ve witnessed all 3 happen for my own peers, direct reports, and even myself. The key point that I want to drive here is that just because your root-cause can be resolved, reflect on whether you have the mental capacity to take on bringing about the change that would be necessary to help regain your spark.

For example, let’s say that work has been tough due to a lack of diversity in your organization. You feel like the odd-one out (and you may in fact be the only ‘you’) and believe that with less group-think and more diverse voices, things could really turn around for you and the impact that could be made by your team. On the one-hand, suggesting an initiative to drive more diverse members to your team might be easier said than done – especially if you’re not operating in a psychologically safe environment. Because let’s also be real for a moment – a lot of people like the idea of diversity but don’t actually want the makeup of their teams to change. However, I won’t discount all leadership teams because some truly do want to make a difference – but that difference does come with an awful amount of hard-work to get such a proposed change across the finish line. And if you’re not in the right mental space to see such a change to the end, then you may find yourself back in bucket 1.

Don’t worry about everyone else.

This step is by-far my most favorite to share with you! Although I was raised in that weird ‘no social media then BAM social media’ era, I do often long for the days where social media didn’t exist. I went through such a deep depression coming out of college when I saw all my undergrad peers on LinkedIn with their fancy job titles and continual promotions. I was enraged – almost like Mrs. White with the flames in Clue.

Boomer generation, I gotta hand it to you, ignorance was truly bliss when you didn’t quite know what was going on in the professional lives of your peers. It’s almost like you had to work for that level of information. But nowadays, I can hop onto Twitter or LinkedIn and view everyone wax poetic about their professional accomplishments. If you’re not already mentally secure in your own capabilities, that could really do a number on your mental health. And it could also have an impact on your ability to make decisions for your career based on what you think would please the masses on social media or in your social circles.

I’ve already been on the titles and accomplishments chase. I became enamored by the beautiful speaker bios I’d hear at conferences. I’d look at my peers who appeared to be excelling in their roles and would be left to feel that I had to do certain roles to reach their level or to maintain appearances for the general public.

 But listen, you’d be amazed at the number of seemingly successful people who just genuinely aren’t reallyhappy with where their careers are. Some fall into the trap of sticking with the career you admire from the sidelines despite wanting to move on to something else. I’ve spoken with so many “social media famous” peers who just aren’t happy behind closed doors with their career.

 I say all this to say – stay in your lane. Don’t let someone else’s career trajectory or opinion sway you into making a decision that doesn’t suit your needs. You never really know what someone’s going through! 

I’ve had the pleasure in living this experience, either as an observer to one of my peers or being the lucky one to have lost their spark at some point in my career. But you know what? It’s OK! Whatever you choose to do at this stage, do it with conviction. Either be all-in or all-out. You don’t have to suffer in silence, either!  Tap into your support system to talk through what you’re experiencing. You’d be amazed at the places where you can find support. Not to mention, support comes in many forms. Sometimes, support is as simple as just having an open ear to listen to you vent.

 We only have one-life, don’t waste it on something you’re not proud of doing 40 hours a week. Our job/career sparks come and go. Own this stage in your career and promise me that you won’t choose to remain stuck.