While success and security are good things, they can also zap your energy, so find something new.
Chances are, if you’re reading this, things have gone pretty well for you. The company is doing well and you’re making a great living. You’ve probably got a nice house and decent vehicles – maybe you even have super cool vehicles! Your kids go to good schools or are already through school and into college or beyond. You aren’t worried about paying for their college. You may even have been on a nice vacation in the last 12 months and have another one planned. In short, you’re living pretty darn well.
That said, you may be unmotivated at work because it’s all going so smoothly. You’re bored with your choice of local restaurants, agitated by the upcoming elections, and feeling that your vote or opinions are futile in the scheme of things. As a result, you are uninspired. So here are my suggestions to get you back into inspired mode:
- Start another small business with your spouse or one of your kids. It may get you re-enthused about business and what you’ll learn can be applied to your primary business to make it more successful.
- Whether at the college level or in some other capacity, teaching keeps you fresh and keeps you learning. Young people have an energy and sense of possibility that hasn’t been beaten out of them yet. This is infectious and will help you.
- Go on a trip with a friend. Do something you haven’t done in a long time. Motorcycle ride through the Rockies? Tour the historic Route 66 in a 1970 Chevelle SS 454 with cowl induction?
- Machu Picchu? Float trip on the Buffalo River? Do something you don’t normally do with someone you don’t normally do it with.
- Join a new group. Whether it’s the Sierra Club or the Girl Scouts or Habitat for Humanity – try something different and start getting into it. It may be inspirational for you to do something that has what you consider to be worthwhile cause.
- Pick up a new hobby. Model trains. Skeet shooting. Needlepoint. Pot throwing. Archery. Collecting egg beaters (yes, I had a client who was a very successful A/E firm CEO who actually did this). Oil painting (my sister-in-law picked this up in her 60s and has been able to sell her art at surprisingly high prices).
- Pick up a new sport. Do something physical. Distance running. Yoga. Mountain biking. Diving. Doing something like this may be what it takes to get you more centered and back to your old inspired self.
- Read some books. Great works of literature may be inspirational. Or true stories of those who have overcome obstacles to be successful at doing something. Get your mind out of the newspaper and Yahoo.com and Facebook and instead fill it with something useful.
This article is from issue 1141 of The Zweig Letter. Interested in more management advice every week from Mark Zweig, the Zweig Group team, and a talented list of other guest writers? Click here for to get a free trial of The Zweig Letter.