When Work Stops Being Fun

You barely remember the feeling.

You wanted that job more than anything in the world. You knew you’d be happy if only you’d get it.

You could hardly believe your luck when you did get it. You were thrilled, ecstatic, over the moon excited.

Then one day you woke up and something didn’t feel right. It was subtle at first – just a bad day. Everyone has a bad day.

But the day turned to a week turned to a month, and now you can barely drag yourself out of bed to go to what you used to think was your dream job.

Sound familiar?

It’s because it is. We have been plagued with professional bipolar disease. One day we’re thrilled about our life, and the next day we can hardly stand the hours, the people, the demands.

When work stops being fun, here are 4 Diagnostic Questions to ask yourself:

1. Ask yourself Why. There are many contributing reasons to professional dissatisfaction. Do you feel you are undervalued? Are you underpaid? Or is the problem that you are overworked? A clear understanding of why you are no longer enjoying your work is key to finding the solution. Many times the problem has nothing to do with your workplace but more to do with you. Are your personal circumstances affecting your professional performance? Are you comparing yourself to others and finding yourself on the short end of the stick? Don’t stop until you’ve answered this key diagnostic question.

2. Ask yourself When. I remember exactly when I became unhappy in my last job. It was about the 5 year mark when I suddenly realized that I was going nowhere. I was spending more time writing bible studies than writing research papers. My friend had gotten promoted while I had nothing to show the promotions board. It was time to either write more papers, or work at a church. Three years later, you know the rest of the story.

3. Ask yourself What if. Sit down at your desk, close your eyes, and picture what your life would look like if you left your job. Follow that path faithfully one year down the road, then five years down the road, and then 10. The odds are that sooner or later even that new “perfect” job will become boring, dissatisfying, and routine. Don’t be fooled by believing that the grass will be greener elsewhere. Start growing flowers in your own lot instead.

4. Ask yourself Now What. If you’ve read this far, it’s finally time to face reality. You’ve got two options: change your attitude or change your job. If I were you, I’d start with changing your attitude. Otherwise all you’ll get is a new office and some new co-workers but you’ll still have the same old you. I stayed at my old job 2 extra years after I realized it was time to move. I did it because I had some attitude adjustments that needed to be made. I’m so thankful I did that.

Life is short. Most of us spend the bulk of it at work.

Love what you do and make it fun.

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