by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang
Once upon a time, we had an idealistic notion that led us to a certain career path. It made so much sense and it made us feel good. 
Fast forward five, ten or twenty years and we are not happy doing what we do. What happened?
It became work.
It’s likely that you lost of sight of WHY you were doing it, got so far away from what you thought it would be about or you just outgrew the whole thing and stayed too long at the fair. Now What?
There are FOUR courses of action to consider.
1) Cut your losses and run
I know it sounds very tempting to just quit and find yourself but unless there is some serious money in the bank, read on.
2) Keep the why, change the details
Let’s say you were attracted to a law career by the notion of fighting for justice and now all you do is shuffle paper and work with uninspiring cases. You need to revisit the WHY. If you still love your original WHY, keep it but get into a new area or firm or organization where you can do what matters to you.
3) RE-engage
Sometimes we just forget the WHY because the daily grind wears us down. Sometimes it’s enough to wake up everyday and remind yourself that you are in it for more than a paycheck. Spend two weeks making your WHY the first thing you think about as you start your day. One of two things will happen:
You’ll get your mojo back and keep going
OR
You’ll realize that it was a ‘that was then, this is now’
situation and start working on a transition
4) Redefine work
Finally, not everyone wants their work to be an all-consuming mission, their purpose or that meaningful for that matter. Many people redefine work to be the bill-payer around which they build an extraordinary life.
I am currently working with a client who decided to stay with her job to allow it to pay for the things that matter to her more: charity work, world-travel, an active social life and time with her kids. It was no longer torture once she reconciled that the WHY was everything else in her life.
How will you keep your mornings dread-free and full of ‘get up and go’?
If you can guess which course of action I’d go for, you may win a FREE session with me. Respond in our comments section. The first three people to guess correctly win. You’ll receive a private email.
And if you need any guidance on this topic, let us know.
I think it makes sense to redefine work. Perspective defines focus and focus drives purpose. Looking beyond the now imbues the “grind” with new life and actually helps redefine the “why.” Thank you, Laura, for always making sense. It is a huge comfort to be able to benefit from your wisdom and experience. Some days, your e-speak is exactly what I need, when I need it.
I would guess you would redefine work. Shape the work around the most important things in your life….
That’s my official guess 🙂
Jill
I think Laura would go for course of action #4. While I’m not a coach per se (I encourage and reinforce the ‘positive’ in my daily work with people), I do always read Laura’s newsletters. Over the years, I’ve seen Laura change the various facets of herself and her work; from the Learning Annex class years ago where I first met her to reading about her becoming an ordained minister to seeing the new work she’s doing with corporate branding and in such a big way!
Laura is the quintessential example of self evolution and an inspiration!
I have a process that I do most weekdays to keep me energized and moving forward.
I journal:
1 – What am I grateful for? I’ll list two or three things.
2 – I’ll challenge any negative beliefs I have by asking the Byron Katie questions. Is it true, etc.
3 – Visualize what I want to see happen. Even if I say “something good will happen today.” It usually does. No matter how small the “good” might be.
4 – Reach out and touch somebody’s hand. ;-p Give back in a small way. Even if it’s smiling more
5 – Create a to get done list. What did I complete the day before. What will I do today. Move things forward one small step.
6 – Read a few passages of the Bible as outlined in the weekly church bulletin. Plus, read Proverbs matching the day of the month. For example, today, September 26th, I read Proverbs 26.
Thanks for commenting. I’ll let you know early next week who is guessing right and who ‘wins’.
I love hearing from you.
After my comment, I realized I never answered your question! 😉
Other than #1, I’m not sure you can pick only one on your list.
If I had to choose the one you’d pick, it would probably be #3. Go back to the original reason of Why you’re doing this in the first place.
Of course, they’re all excellent suggestions. But I’m going to go with #2 (Keep the Why, Change the Details). The energetic and emotional vibration that a person comes from has the power to transform any situation. Thanks Laura, for all the years of inspiration! Even though you haven’t heard from me personally in a very long time, I so enjoy your enewsletter and I feel like you continue to have a wonderful influence in my life. 🙂
NOBODY GUESSED MINE!! I can’t believe it. I’ll try harder to give away coaching next time!!!
#2 of course