At some point or another in our lives, we start becoming unproductive at work due to no longer feeling like we have a sense of purpose and despite collecting a paycheck, we somewhat still have quite a bit to lose actually.
Anytime we begin a new job, we feel excited, we feel empowered, and more importantly, we feel a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging to something and having been trusted with an obligation, which is often why most people work their hardest during the first 90 days they are hired than any other time in their career. The feeling, however, doesn’t always last as the years go by and certainly when the industry and organizational changes make us feel more and more disconnected with our purpose. This can be related to the fact that we often have poor leadership and low levels of motivational factors to keep us excited, such as lack of open positions to allow us to grow or perhaps changes in the culture that are no longer aligned with our beliefs as they once were.
What we forget to realize, however, is that staying in the role we have been comfortable with in the past 5 years means we are allowing not only other opportunities to go by but also not helping ourselves grow either. Our lack of engagement towards our role is 90% of what helps us progress; not only at work but in life too. Losing our motivation and purpose keeps us from moving forward, which makes us complacent and comfortable. It keeps us from challenging ourselves to be better and to gain knowledge and experience. It simply hinders us from the growth we seek.
Being able to identify when you have lost engagement and are no longer in belief that your work matters is very important to your own growth. No one owns your progress as much as yourself. Keeping yourself motivated, engaged, and with purpose is essential. Simply quitting is not an option and certainly trying to find yourself in something you no longer believe in is certainly a waste of time. A good practice would be to explore other fields or simply look at this as an opportunity to start investing in a longer term entrepreneurial project rather than just another job that will have a dead end in 5 years. Keep in mind that if you ultimately do not find fulfillment in your work today it is highly unlikely that you will find it in the same work at another organization.
This might be your cue that your time in Corporate America is up and the ultimate step will be to venture out in the unknown to discover what your true calling is and as a reason that you might actually find your purpose. I invite and encourage you to read our book, Is It 5 Yet?, which will give you insights of how some true life entrepreneurs became successful while providing you with some helpful tips.
“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin
