Do you long for the days when you were passionate about your job, when you were excited about your company and the work you did there?

When we feel disconnected from our work, it is often because our values have shifted or the work has shifted and our values haven’t.

I see this happen to many clients. They remember times when they felt connected to their company and their work. They remember feeling excited about what they were doing. But now, it just feels like work.

Does this sound familiar? Do you want it to change?

Step back for a moment. When the times were good, what did you value about work? What did work value about you?

What about now? What do you value about work? What does work value about you?

What changed: you or work or both?

What do you want to do about it?

You can try to align yourself with work. (Likely you can’t align work with you if you work for someone else.)

You can change the reason why you show up at work.

You can find new avenues for fulfillment.

You can make a career change.

You have options. You are not stuck. You can find a connection with your work again. It won’t be the same as it used to be, but you can feel that passion again if you're willing to make a few changes. Are you ready?
 

A few years ago I abandoned the idea that I needed to have “a successful career.” I don’t mean I don’t want a thriving practice--I do want that. I dropped the idea that career stands separately from who I am. I dropped the idea that career is defined by someone outside of me in corporate America or in some other standardized method.

I began a quest to find out what makes me happy and fills me up. Once I started to get clear on that, the idea of a “successful career” no longer seemed to matter.

In a recent Abraham quote-of-the-day, he suggested the following:

A very good career choice would be to gravitate toward those activities and to embrace those desires that harmonize with your core intentions, which are freedom and growth—and joy. Make a "career" of living a happy life rather than trying to find work that will produce enough income that you can do things with your money that will then make you happy. When feeling happy is of paramount importance to you—and what you do "for a living" makes you happy—you have found the best of all combinations.

I agree.

Create a life that is full of the people and activities you love. Choose the simple pleasures, like a walk after a spring rain and a kiss from your partner. That’s where a happy life starts.

Not in the boardroom or the cubicle (unless you love boardrooms and cubicles).

Fill yourself up to the brim with what makes you happy, and see where that takes you. My bet: you find the success you need most.

What do you think?
 

In your life, are you working to survive the moment, or are you pushing toward something better?

“I just have to survive these layoffs...”
“If I can only make it through this rough patch...”

When times are challenging, we tend to focus on “making it through,” or surviving the tough times, instead of striving for something more.

Imagine for a moment that times are tough. (Maybe for you right now, this isn’t difficult to imagine.) You need to work hard to make it through the day or through the week. How does this feel?

Now, imagine that you have a vision for your future. You’re clear about what you want. You’re headed in that direction and your dream is slowly unfolding. It could be hard work, but it’s what you want to be doing. How does this feel?

Look at your life today. Are you surviving the moment, or are you striving toward something better?

Which do you want to be doing?

Even when times look tough, setting your sights on something bigger and going for it feels good, inspires others, and directs you toward your dreams.

What are you striving for?

photo courtesy of Pat :-) via Flickr
 

How’s your inner lizard when it comes to money?

If you have any money worries in your life, I bet your lizard could use a little taming. I’m offering a class to teach you how.

Fun, interactive group sessions will help everyone tame their lizard’s money fears and potentially manifest some magic.

Are you game? I’d love for you to join us.
 

Would you like to feel a little less stress during stressful activities? Do you want to take away a bit of the tension?

Last weekend, I cleaned the house. It’s not my favorite thing to do. Merely thinking about it causes my body to grow tense, and it worsens once I start cleaning. I love a clean house, but I don’t love cleaning it.

This time, I decided to take away the tension. I chose to clean the house without the usual frustration.

A dirty toilet is still a dirty toilet, but cleaning it isn’t so bad when I don’t carry mental and physical stress.

What do you find stressful?

A meeting with your boss.
Carpooling a van full of kids to and from basketball practice.
Cleaning up after teenagers.

Whatever it is, when you do that thing you don’t like, decide to leave the tension behind.

You have a choice.

Relax your muscles. Take slow, deep breaths. Move slowly.

If you’re going to do the thing you don’t like to do, you might as well do it without adding extra pain.

Where can you remove a little tension in your life and add in a deep breath and some relaxation?
 

I learned a great new trick a few weeks ago: If I want to relax, I just ask my body to do it for me.

Try this: Ask your breath to deepen for you. Don’t you do it--ask your breath to do it for you.

Stop reading for a minute and notice what happens.

Seriously, try it. Ask your breath to deepen for you.

What happens is almost magical, isn’t it?

I’m now starting to practice it on my tight muscles and with falling asleep, with some success. When I get into bed and feel situated, I ask my mind to turn off and my body to sleep. Most nights it works quickly.

If you encounter a stressful moment in your day, pause and ask your breath to deepen for you--you don’t have to do anything else. Your body is infinitely wise and knows exactly what to do. You and your mind are the only thing stopping it. Pause and let your breath deepen and your body relax.

Isn’t that fantastic?
 

There is a fine line between persistence and refusing to accept reality. --Tim Leatherman, founder of Leatherman Tools, in reference to his 8 year endeavor to sell his first tool

When I heard Tim Leatherman say these worlds last week to a room full of engineering professionals and students, I grabbed my pen and paper. I don’t think that statement was calculated or prepared; it just flew from his lips when asked a question about frustration and wanting to give up when he hadn’t sold a tool after many years of trying.

I thought about my life. Would I keep working on the same thing for 8 years without a single “bite?” Do I have enough passion and drive and belief in what I do to keep at it that long?

Sometimes we give up because the road to where we’re going gets rough. Other times, we refuse to accept reality even when conditions look bleak.

How do we know if it’s time to quit?

I can’t say I have a clear answer, but one thought comes to mind: if deep in your heart you hear a YES, keep going. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, if it feels right to you deep down, it’s right.

What do you think?

Photo courtesy of Rebecca via Flickr
 

On Monday I wrote about Evan Lysacek’s comment on loving what he does.

I’m sure 90% of the Olympians fit in this category, and surely all of those who win medals love what they do. I think it would be difficult to win if they didn’t.

Another Olympian that comes to mind when I think of this love is Shaun White.

Not too long ago at the X Games, Sean debuted a fancy new trick he calls the Double McTwist 1260. And he bit it. Big time. If you haven’t seen the video, it’s crazy. (You’ll never catch me doing this sort of thing!)

What happened afterward? He got right back on it and did it again, undeterred. He completed the trick successfully.

Last week, he repeated the trick again and nailed it in the Olympics. No one could come close to matching his score. (For some reason I don’t understand, I can not find his Gold Medal video anywhere online. This source cites a similar experience.) He got the gold.

When Shaun talks about snowboarding, you can feel the love he has for what he does.

When I sit down to do what I do, whether it’s writing or coaching or brainstorming the next thing for my business, I like to tap into the energy that these guys have. The passion. The unwavering commitment. The love. Connected to feelings like those is the way I want to live.
 

You have really great days and you have tough days. I think that if you’re participating in a sport for the right reasons..., when you have those tough days and those trying moments, your love for what you do is going to get you through it.

I was watching some Olympic recaps and heard gold medalists Evan Lysacek say that to Oprah when she asked him “What would you say to the young skaters out there?”

I choose to believe that each one of us can have as much love for what we do in our lives as this man has for his sport. I don’t believe that this love is reserved for Olympic and professional athletes, actors, singers, and Oprah. I think we can all feel this love.

If you’re in a job you don’t love, why are you there? I’m sure you have plenty of logical reasons. How does your heart feel when you spend your days doing something that doesn’t fill you up?

Just for a moment, consider that it is possible to feel the same way Evan does about his “job.” What could you do to make that your reality? Are you willing to take even a tiny step in that direction?

Photo courtesy of dev null via Flickr

We’re having absolutely fabulous weather here in Corvallis, Oregon. As I type this, it’s sunny and mid-50s. It will likely hit 60 today. I had a delightful morning run. The sun is now streaming in my office window and I can feel the fresh air blowing in. I love it.
Except when I start future-thinking. I fret about the winter we didn’t have.

Will it come in March or April?
Will it kill all of the buds on the trees?
Will this create problems for the local farmers?
What about the summer?
Will it be crazy-hot?
Will there be a lot of fires?
We need more rain!!!

Once I start down this path, it quickly turns into a death spiral. I stop enjoying the sunshine, the crocuses, and my open office window. I start worrying about all of these things that are completely out of my control.

As I’ve been noticing this mental weather pattern of mine over the past few weeks, I’ve been catching myself in the act and stopping this future-thinking.

On my run today, as soon as I stopped fretting, I noticed so many more crocuses that I usually notice. It was because I was present. I was in the now. I was living today.

It got me thinking about how much I miss because my mind is focused up ahead.

This weather one is a simple example. Of course I can’t change the weather. Future focus on that is obviously a waste of time for me. I’m not a farmer. I have air conditioning. And forest fires don’t come to Corvallis.

But what about the other areas of my life? There are plenty of times I future-think and believe that future-thinking will somehow help me. Every time I think about the future and not the now, I am missing the now.

Future-thinking is not necessarily a bad thing, just when it becomes a repetitive pattern full of worry. We can future-think about our bodies and health, the weather, money, relationships, work, you name it! Most of the time it just fills us with worry and offers no benefit (unless you think stress is a good thing).

Do you future-think? Is there one area where you can commit to stopping your future-thinking pattern?