5 Strategies to Renew Your Motivation and Passion for Work

And I’m not alone. As the recent “quiet resignation” trend has revealed, many people are losing enthusiasm for the careers they once loved. You may have done everything you could to get your dream job – and yet the daily routine sometimes takes away from your enthusiasm.

“In my experience as a trainer, I would say this is a serious and growing problem,” says British personal trainer Anna K. Schaffner, who specializes in burnout, Burnt and flexibility. She is the author of the book The art of self improvement (“The Art of Self-Improvement”, free translation).

For some people, a loss of passion can be a sign that they need to change jobs, but such a drastic change is not always possible.

Fortunately, recent studies show that some people naturally adopt “cultivating strategies” to reignite that passion and drive—and we can all apply these techniques in many different ways.

The first study was conducted by psychology professor Patricia Chen, of the University of Texas at Austin, US.

She analyzed the effect of two different mindsets on emotion. So-called “sufficiency theorists” often agree with statements such as:

I believe there is a perfect and right job for every individual, and finding the right career will determine one’s happiness and career success.

Development theorists are likely to agree with statements like these:

I believe that passion develops through the learning process in whatever profession is chosen. The better you get at one type of job, the more you will start to love the profession.

Using detailed questionnaires that measure people’s mindsets and outcomes in different workplaces, Chen concludes that these beliefs become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Adequacy theorists will struggle to find happiness in a job that does not meet their specific criteria. Meanwhile, development theorists can learn to find enjoyment and interest in different tasks, so that their satisfaction increases over time, even if the job does not initially meet all of the required requirements.

Chen’s new study aims to explore how development theorists manage their passions in this way. What strategies do they use to keep the flame of desire to work burning?

To find out, I started by interviewing 316 undergraduate students from a variety of academic majors about how their passion for their majors had changed over time. The study mainly involved an open-ended questionnaire about the cause of this shift in emotion.

Among hundreds of responses, the researchers identified five common strategies that students cited for increasing their motivation. are they:

– Recognizing the personal connection: A business student, for example, might try to think of ways theoretical knowledge can help him find a startup.

Recognize the social importance: The student may wonder how the content of the studies can help him or her to understand the world, and how this knowledge can benefit others.

Building familiarity: Gaining new knowledge can spark someone’s curiosity to learn more because it identifies new points of interest. And the fact of being able to progress and master challenging tasks, in and of itself, can be a bonus. Therefore, a person who feels unmotivated may look for new ways to expand their knowledge.

Gaining practical experience: Many students have found that internships have increased their enthusiasm for academic studies.

– Find mentors and change the environment: Students can actively look for teachers to inspire them or friends to help make work more enjoyable.

In general, Chen confirmed that developmentally minded students were more likely to see positive increases in their passion for studying over time. This change is related to the amount of emotion development strategies they use.

Students with a fit mindset do not seem to use these strategies effectively.

Chen’s findings align with broader psychological research looking at the ways people regulate their interests and motivations at work.

In addition to confirming the use of strategies that Chen has already found (such as identifying the personal or social relevance of a work), these studies suggest other ways to revive magic.

Two of the most useful methods are “Near Target Detection” and “Auto Score”. They’re especially useful when you’re feeling overwhelmed with a new project, where the challenge is so great and the reward so far away that you’re having trouble mustering the enthusiasm you need to get started.

To apply the close preparation method, you need to break down the project into smaller tasks that you are faster to complete. This allows you to feel that sweet feeling of satisfaction as you finish each step.

“This can be especially effective if you use small rewards to achieve these goals, such as watching Netflix, after completing a task,” says Mike Trautner, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Münster in Germany. This is the automatic consequence part.

Again, mindset is important. In a recent study in partnership with Malte Schwinger, a professor at Philips University in Marburg, also in Germany, Trautner interviewed more than 700 students to find out the ways they deal with motivation.

As Chen points out in his work on emotion, the two professors found that some students believe their motivation for a task is fixed and unchanging, while others believe it can be refined.

The latter are those who look for ways to increase motivation using practical strategies, while those who believe that motivation is beyond their control are less proactive.

For people who already have a development mindset, these strategies may seem obvious. But Chen’s work suggests they are in the minority. In her samples, the majority showed an appropriate mindset and could therefore benefit from being reminded of their ability to develop passion and drive.

Taking more time to reflect on our overall goals, researching the benefits our work brings to others, connecting with inspiring colleagues, and creating a plan with small rewards—these are all simple strategies we can follow to increase our motivation.

But you don’t have to take full responsibility. Schaffner suggests talking to your boss about ways you can change your work to better align with your values ​​and interests — a process she describes as Job formulation (which would be something like “work reconfiguration or resignation”)

“Good employers should be concerned about this and support the idea,” he says.

“It makes sense to give your employees more appropriate tasks so that they can perform better.”

If you still feel like nothing has changed, you may be asking too much of your career.

Just as we sometimes expect our romantic partners to be the source of all the emotion in our lives (which puts unnecessary stress on the relationship), we can sometimes have unrealistic expectations for our jobs, as if they are going to provide meaning to our lives.

Because of this, Schaffner suggests taking up a hobby can also provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment, so your job isn’t the only place you’ll find fulfillment in life.

“Ironically, with a little bit of detachment and perspective, we tend to work out better and lighter,” she says.

I myself try to apply this philosophy. On those dark northern hemisphere winter days, I’ve been trying to recharge by reminding myself of all the reasons I pursued a career as a journalist in the first place and devoting more time to reading people’s comments on what I write — an activity often in the background due to the pressures of appointments. urgent final.

But following Schaffner’s advice, I also make an effort to devote more time to other activities I love.

In her words, “It can be incredibly healing and healing when business is just business.”