Balance and Joy Part 2: Finding Your Joy
Finding joy in your profession is the key to long-term success. But what happens when you lose sight of your priorities or dread each workday?
It’s Time to Reassess.
Does your career bring you joy? Do you find yourself looking forward to new projects and opportunities in your field?
Or do you dread each weekday, trudging along day by day with projects that bring nothing but stress?
Professionals who struggle to find joy in their careers often fall into three categories:
- Burnt out by the field itself.
- Torn between personal and professional responsibilities.
- Unsupported by teammates or managers.
In part one, “The Balancing Act,” we discussed where categories two and three manifest and one of the countless solutions to these problems: the power of remote work. Flexible hours and potent virtual tools result in a productive work environment with far less stress than traditional jobs.
However, remote work will not be the answer if you fall into category one: feeling burnt out by the field itself.
Going Through the Motions.
When it just feels like you’re going through the motions, you know you’re burnt out. Each day bleeds into the next, unrelenting. As a result, you might feel unproductive or uncertain in your career.
One key to successful work is loving what you do. More often than not, you’ll feel satisfied and confident when you love your career. However, even small stresses build up.
Even if you love your career, your circumstances might be dragging you down. Do your day-to-day tasks make you happy? Are you eager to catch up and brainstorm with your colleagues? When you finish a stressful project, are you fulfilled by finding joy or just relieved?
It’s normal to feel stressed. But when the only time you can come up for air is in between projects or when that one coworker goes on vacation, it might be time for a change.
Assess what might be the culprit. Narrowing down your stressors will offer insight into what the correct move is. From here, you can make educated decisions on what needs to change.
Forge a New Path.
You deserve to love what you do. Yes, it’s unrealistic to expect to love your job 100% of the time. However, it is a gift to see roadblocks as lessons learned and mistakes as opportunities for growth.
We hope that this blog series encourages you to reflect on your priorities and leads you to a career marked by balance and joy.
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