14 Ways to Fall Back in Love with your Career

February is the month to celebrate love and so much more.  As I was planning for Valentine’s Day this year in my personal life, it dawned on me how important love is for your career life as well.  So many people fall in and out of love with their goals, projects and ideas, it’s important to have ways to maintain the attraction to the reason you put your attention here in the first place.

Particularly, it’s important to keep the affinity to what you’ve chosen to do as a profession. If there is no spark or passion, it’s easy to fall out of love with your career after a few years and sometimes after just a several months.

You take on a leadership role to establish yourself and to experience a sense of accomplishment. You go into business for freedom and to make a difference. Then, one day you look up and wonder how did I get here and why am I doing this?  Well it’s time to take a new look at your career, recommit to your purpose and take actions consistent to what you want…true love for what you do and who you serve.

Here are 14 ways I’ve outlined to help you do just that, fall back in love with your career:

1. Write your performance review now – Start with the end in mind.  Write your own appraisal as if it already happened.  This is the ground work for developing goals and planned outcomes.  Then, identify what actions would be consistent with the future outcomes you desire.  And, get to work on each one.
2. Schedule a 1:1 with your manager or your team – Be proactive.  Don’t wait until there is a problem, before you sit down together.  Set an agenda, schedule a convenience time and review your top objectives, goals, strategies and measurements.  This will highlight your value to you and others.  Could be quite the pick me up you need.
3. Work from home one day – Take your meetings in your pajamas.  This is only for the disciplined, however.  Working from home one or two days a week is becoming more the norm than not.  If you’re not in this growing group of virtual or tele-workers, join the club…at least for a day.
4. Schedule your next vacation – When’s your next few days off? This is always a mood lifter.  Just knowing you have a few days off coming up lifts the spirit.  Get a wall calendar if necessary and make big Xs on the days leading up to your vacation.  This activity creates the momentum to also “getter done.”
5. Join an industry organization – Connect with your people.  There is an organization for everything.  Find yours and become an active member.  You may find there are opportunities and recognition for serving on a team here and now that you might not experience yet in your current role.
6. Volunteer at a Career Center – Help someone else.  There is nothing more eye opening than to see another in need of something you already have.  Volunteering just an hour or two can inspire you to realize it’s not as bad as it seems.  You can assist in the rewriting of a resume, help pull together a job search strategy, or discover what their real passion is now that they are in transition.
7. Rewrite your resume – Get it written professionally.   Invest in yourself by having your resume professionally written.  It never ceases to amaze me how someone will buy a $400 suit, but will not invest $250 to make a great first impression with their bio or resume.  No one will see the suit if you don’t get the interview or client meeting.
8. Develop a Personal Board of Directors (PBOD) – Create your Dream Team.  This group of advocates is a priceless team pulled together for you, by you.  You’ll want to start small and add members based on relationship, rapport and responsibility.  If you don’t have a PBOD, start building one now.
9. Become a member of your alumni org – Give back.  Show your school spirit and give back to the university that paved the way for your current level of success.  Donate your time as a guest lecturer or donate financially or in-kind to an upcoming benefit.
10. Take on a new initiative, project or program – Think BIG! What if you said “Yes” to the next opportunity that came your way?  Preparation is the key, however.  If you’re ready and studies show that many leaders (especially women) wait until they are 118% ready for the next assignment, go for it.
11. Develop a debrief presentation – Share your knowledge from the last conference you attended. It’s important to show a return-on-investment by debriefing what you learned when you participated in an event.  Why not share a 15-20 minute “Key Take-aways and Action Items” presentation to deepen your learning and share golden nuggets with your team.
12. Set up a breakfast or lunch with your mentor – Gain advice from others.  My mentors have been invaluable in the development of my career.  It may be that you haven’t held a 1:1 in quite some time.  Pick up the phone, send an email invite and set an agenda.  Talk about more than just your career.  Find out what keeps your mentor up and still engaged and you may pick up a pointer or two.
13. Start a book club within your office or virtual team – Leaders are readers.  And, reading creates a great distraction from the routine workload of the day.  You will also create a community of readers who you can influence to speak the same language and adopt similar philosophies based on the book topics and choices made.
14. Do what brings you joy – Get your happy back.  This has more to do with you and less to do with your career.  Studies have shown that when you are happy, your workplace and work day are impacted as well.  Begin with you.  What brings you joy?  Discover it and then add this to your life consistently.

The bottom line:  Passion, performance and prosperity go hand in hand.  If you want to get ahead, you’ll get there faster by loving what you do.

“To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work.” ~Sister Mary Lauretta

© 2012 Patricia Perkins LLC.  WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEBSITE?  Be my guest, as long as you include this complete messaging:  Career Advancement Mentor, Pat E. Perkins, CPCC, helps motivated leaders advance smarter, progress faster and with less effort.  Obtain her FREE CD on 7 Success Strategies at www.PatEPerkins.com.

About Pat E. Perkins, CPCC

Pat E. Perkins, known as The Career Advancement Mentor because she helps motivated leaders who want to advance in their career and their life and enjoy sustainable results in the process. Pat is the creator of the ADVANCE! Coaching System™. She will help you transform the way you navigate your career so you can progress faster, smarter and with less effort.

Get Pat’s Complimentary CD plus an opportunity to connect with her privately for a FREE Get Acquainted Call about your career.  Reach her online at www.PatEPerkins.com.

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