A long time, when I was still in school, an older friend whom I befriended in my part time working days suddenly smsed me out of the blue.
W: I feel very bored with my life. Any remedies?
Me: How about taking up a challenge?
W: Wow! That’s a new one. Most people tell me to take a holiday.
And that was the end of the conversation, because I did not follow up with her to check if my advice worked.
I should have because I am now at the same stage of my life as she was. I am finding myself bored with my work life. And I am questioning if work life is simply supposed to be boring or is it just me, or am I in the wrong job.
My work is boring because:
1) No bonding. I don’t particularly like my colleagues a lot. Which means that there is nothing to look forward to every morning.
2) No mental stimulation. My sales job gives me reasonably good pay and a reason to buy a car, but it lacks mental stimulation, which I am absolutely craving for.
3) No impressive superior. I don’t feel like I am learning a lot, in fact my boss says he has nothing new to teach me. And I am the type who likes to learn from others, so it is really boring when I feel that I am not.
4) Unrealistic goal setting. I am frustrated by some of the demands they place on us, which I feel that NO one can achieve. If you can, or if anyone can, please show me. But it is simply unreasonable to expect me to do what YOU can’t do.
5) Too honest boss? My boss, whom treats me like a friend, likes to tell me how simple his job is. Well, I already know that he thinks that way, and I feel a certain disdain. Your job is not just to make motivational speeches, but to innovate and come up with solutions, methinks.
So this is really vexing. On one hand, I want to finish this canvass well and achieve my target before I move on. On the other hand, I am freaking bored and un-motivated. And I am trying to think of a solution but I cant think of anything yet.
In my philosophy class, we learned about something like our base motivation. I can’t remember the exact terminology, but it is something like underneath the actions that we perform everyday, there is an underlying motivation. And if we un-earth all these motivations, at the bottom, we have a base motivation. Like for some people, maybe it is security. Which means that that is the motivation that makes them wake up on time for work, stay in the same job, and so on. And I am wondering what is mine? If it is security and money, why am I not happy with my work?
I think I need to find something challenging to do, except that my work is already making me damn physically shagged out most of the time. Grrr.
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4 comments:
Suggestion: teach! Most people couldn't sell water in a desert. If you have a gift for sales, you can pass on this talent to others.
Or get a job you like :-)
I donno bout u, but I depend highly on my interest to work. Once I am bored or unmotivated, then it's goodbyes to the job. It would only mean one thing - why force yourself to do something you don't like? I'm sure you're feeling lazy to wake-up everyday to go to work rite?! Your job is half your life, man. Like it or leave it. Make it work, or walk away. I know how u feel. Used to be wat ur into now, last year. Colleagues suck, work suck, boss suck BIG-TIME, even the parking sucks! I wasn't showing any interest on the job. In the end, I got fired. And I didn't even feel like a loser. Was actually kinda glad.
Base motivation for most working folks - money and self-sustainance, unless you're one of those who's lucky enough to convert a hobby into a fulltime job (eg writers, photographers etc). For the longest time during my last job, I was facing the same uninspiring boredom like you are now. Then I landed my current job and for the first 6 months I was indeed happy: great cameraderie, fresh challenges, motivational bosses, realistic goals and plenty of OTJ opportunities. Then slowly, waking up in the morning becomes a drag, everything begins to feel routine and claustrophobic.
I asked myself: will I work at all if I have enough money to live, not lavishly, but adequately (no broadband, no new car, no Starbucks or Chillis), and my answer was no. It's all about the money, often disguised as committments. After a while it's no longer about the quality of your job, but it's the NEED to work that's boring. Do this, finish that, deadlines, bottom lines.
Next best solution? Change a hobby into a profession, or change your job into a new hobby lol
Katztales: Actually my long term aim to be either an entreprenuer, a sales director or a public speaker. Which the latter 2 constitues teaching to some extend. :) You are perceptive! hehe
Jennesis: Yes, I agree that passion is really important, just that there must be more than passion, isnt it? Becasue passion dies down after a while when the novelty and challenge wears off, but thats just my view :)
Pesky: It is ALL about the money When I was young and naive, I chose a course which I was interested in. Now, dammit, I think I should had chosen law back then. HAHA! Its all about the money!
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