Burnout, boredom and the power of change

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it,move with it, and join the dance. “ Alan Watts

We are quickly heading quickly into the festive period which is a high period of burnout and boredom in business and personally.

It’s a sobering thought, but with at least eight hour days the bare minimum, there’s no escaping the fact that jobs and careers are a considerable influence on our lives. Dissatisfaction at work has a large impact on overall happiness, health, home life, relationships and self-esteem.

While the looming break can help in returning fresh to tackle the new year it can also become a catalyst for greater discontent. Dissatisfactions suppressed during the normal working week can come to the fore when there is opportunity for unconscious thoughts.

Rather than coming back refreshed it is possible that you may return less motivated rather than raring to go. At some point, most of us will have a dip in enthusiasm and dissatisfaction in career or business and it is a path that can be either destructive or an opportunity for change and growth.

Get out of the funk

When did you last feel challenged and motivated, learning something new or doing something that really aligned with your values and purpose?

Use this period as a time of reflection and creativity to identify what brings you joy and purpose and how you how you can change and grow in the new year. Better still start thinking now so you can start the new year with purpose and passion for the new goals ahead.

Some of the key aspects to happiness and fulfilment at work are; being challenged, having positive relationships and having goals that you find enjoyment and purpose in. If you are not currently getting these you may be ready for some changes.

In our current challenging and competitive business environment, learning and development has never been more important and provides a way to address these human needs through positive change.

However, scatter gun approaches rarely work and can in fact compound the problems. To be successful you need to focus on a development direction that aligns with what brings you joy and that you are passionate about and strategies for development that are realistic and achievable.

How to work out your direction

• Reflect on what gives you joy and purpose . look for opportunities to develop grow in a way that allows you to do more of this.
• Reflect on what gives you the most stress. These are signs this does not align with your values and purpose or it is perhaps areas that you could use additional development.
• Undertake a psychometric assessment or talk –  to friends, colleagues and associates to uncover your strengths weaknesses and opportunities and threats that you might not be seeing.
• Identify where you would like to be and identify a plan for what you can do to do this, who can help, where can you learn and develop.
• Start Small and Go at your own pace be realistic with the strategies that you will use to develop to avoid further stress and discontentment

What strategies can you use

When we do get to the process of evaluating where we need to develop it can easily become daunting to reach that goal quickly. There are many ways to develop and grow not all need to be a complicated process.

Consider practically what is going to work with your life style, commitments or budgets. It doesn’t have to be a commitment to an MBA. An action could take as little as 10 minutes watching a TED talk or reading a whitepaper or technical article. Or it could be a qualification that only involves monthly workshops over a staggered period focussing on one element at a time.

Whatever the strategy it is likely to involve a combination different things.

• Seek out opportunities for or development in the workplace
• Reflect on past experiences and lessons
• Get out of your comfort zone every day
• Enrol in courses and Qualifications
• Increase exposure to different ideas and messages

More Information

For more information on psychometric testing, mentoring and coaching programs and training and development feel free to reach out for a no obligation complementary discussion at www.learningpartnerships.edu.au or on (07) 47 281 555