How to Re-Inspire Yourself Out of a Career Slump
Episode 515 | Author: Emilie Aries
It’s normal to feel burnt out or bored—try three small steps to get your spark back.
When inspiration starts to dwindle, it’s easy to think in extremes. Either you’re lazy and broken because you can’t get jazzed about work or life, or it’s time to quit your job and embark on a totally new journey. Hold up, though. Before you hit send on that resignation letter, take a beat and give these three simple techniques a try.
Lately, I’ve been in this very boat, vacillating between feeling overwhelmed and super engaged and questioning the future of everything—not surprising, given the state of the world.
Career (and life) ruts are 100% real. In fact, I created a LinkedIn Learning video course a few years ago about getting unstuck at work, and in episode 511, The Engagement Crisis Impacting Young Workers, I talked about the engagement crisis highlighted by Gallup’s recent Global Workplace survey.
If all this disengagement talk makes you feel seen, try these three strategies for getting re-inspired.
Step outside
No, I mean literally. Turn off your monitor, put your phone on its charger, and take a walk. As the internet says—y’all need to touch grass. Journaling and brainstorming are great, but try even a brief physical disconnect first. Way back in episode 172, The Healing Power of Nature, I interviewed Florence Williams about this topic, and the benefits of getting outside are no less relevant today.
A Stanford study found evidence that just 90 minutes in nature can reduce rumination and help curb depression. Simply put, you can’t access inspiration while you’re in survival mode, so go hug a tree or literally smell some roses—you won’t regret it.
Do a curiosity scan
What are you inherently drawn to right now? What websites do you have open on your browser that you aren’t getting paid to read? Letting yourself follow your instincts in this regard can create a positive feedback loop—it energizes you, which prompts you to explore even more, which energizes you…and so on. A study in Neuron found that following your intrinsic curiosity can also increase dopamine and boost memory!
If you’re feeling too pressed for time, think about how you can tweak what little downtime you do have. This step doesn’t require hours. Even just redirecting your 10-minute Instagram or YouTube rabbit holes toward topics you’re inherently curious about can make a huge difference.
Do an energy audit
At the end of the workday, take a 30-second inventory of what gave you energy and what drained you. This isn’t about quitting the latter (there will always be blah items on your to-do list) or fixing anything. It’s about paying attention to the physical and mental clues that tell you what lights you up, what fulfills you.
Even shifting just 1% more of your day toward a task that energizes you and away from one that drains you can have a tremendous impact on your connection to the work you’re already doing.
Re-inspiration comes from creating space to ask better questions, actually listening to the answers within you, and then engaging with what you learned. So, my question to you: How are you reclaiming a quiet moment to yourself? Tag me the next time you do with your favourite strategies for resetting your spark. Share your take in the Courage Community on Facebook or our group on LinkedIn.
Related Links From Today’s Episode:
Episode 511, The Engagement Crisis Impacting Young Workers
Episode 172, The Healing Power of Nature
Gallup, Engagement Recedes for the First Time in Four Years
Stanford Researchers Find Mental Health Prescription: Nature
LinkedIn Learning, Get Unstuck: Make a Plan to Move Your Career Forward
Neuron, States of Curiosity Modulate Hippocampus-Dependent Learning via the Dopaminergic Circuit
Unstick yourself from that career rut like a boss:
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[INTRO MUSIC IN]
EMILIE: Hey, and welcome to episode 515. I'm your host, Emilie Aries, the Founder and CEO of Bossed Up. And today I want to talk about how to get re inspired about your career. Even when you're feeling burnt out, bored, or just over it.
[INTRO MUSIC ENDS]
If you've been feeling unmotivated lately, know that you're not alone and that you're not broken, you are simply a human being. I myself have been waffling between being overwhelmed and super engaged in what I'm doing, and at the same time, feeling dystopian about the future. And in today's day and age, with the current news of the day, that feels like a very reasonable response. So if you're like me and you're struggling to find your footing, today's episode is going to ground us both in how we can regain a sense of control.
I want to share three simple ways to get re-inspired without blowing up your life or having to completely pivot your career. Because the fact of the matter is, career ruts are real. A few years back, I even created an on demand video course with LinkedIn Learning about getting unstuck, making a plan to move your career forward, which I'll link to in today's show notes. And getting unstuck is something a lot of us have to do these days. According to the latest Gallup engagement survey, based on their Global Workplace survey, nearly 8 in 10 employees are psychologically disengaged at work. So you're not alone and you're not lazy. More likely than anything, you're just disconnected from what feels meaningful. We covered this on a recent episode of The Bossed Up podcast, episode 511, all about the engagement crisis at work and how it's particularly impacting young people. The research that came out from Gallup right after I recorded that also highlights how this is particularly acute for managers and women managers especially.
So the good news here is you're not alone. And the other gem in all of this is that, listen, we don't need to, like, find our forever purpose in order to move forward. What we really need to do is reconnect with what matters to us now. So what matters to you right now is what I really want to challenge you to think about as we move forward today.
The first step is to step outside, literally. There's truth to that Internet saying or sort of memeism of some of y' all really need to touch grass. [LAUGHTER] I feel like some of y' all is me lately, right? So before you try to logic your way through anything, journaling or brainstorming or starting your job search. Take a walk in the woods, right? Like, leave your phone at home, touch grass, hug a tree. Like, when we talk about grounding ourself in purpose, sometimes there's a physicality to it that really matters. Get outside. The Japanese call this forest bathing, right?
There's a lot of good evidence on the healing power of nature that we covered back on episode 172 with author Florence Williams. And all of that is absolutely valid. Like, we need to give ourselves time to reconnect with nature in order to reconnect with our ourselves. In fact, evidence from Stanford shows spending just 90 minutes in nature can reduce rumination and activity in the brain associated with depression. So if you're feeling depressed or you're ruminating and overthinking and struggling to, like, get out of that rut, know that you can't access inspiration when your brain is in that kind of survival mode. You've got to zoom out. And physically zooming out can help you mentally zoom out and shift your perspective. So get outside. Walk. Take a walk, even if it's just on a nature trail, or a sidewalk, or a city walk. But try not to incorporate audio stimulation while you're doing so. Meaning, every now and then, says the podcaster, turn the podcast off, turn the music off, and just allow yourself to be with your thoughts while moving, you might be surprised to see what comes up.
Step number two is to do a curiosity scan. Follow your curiosity like it's almost like a breadcrumb trail leading you in the direction of what you desire. So ask yourself, like, what am I inherently drawn to right now? Before I started Bossed Up, I would find my tabs open at work when I should have been working, reading stuff about gender equity in the workplace, right? Reading things about feminism and the women's movement. And so, I want you to pay close attention to what you are inherently drawn to, even when no one's paying you to pay attention. You don't need some kind of lightning bolt moment here because your curiosity is a prequel to inspiration.
Psychologists call this a positive feedback loop. When we follow our interests, we tend to feel more energized, which then motivates us to follow that further. Like, to actually engage in more exploration. So allowing your intrinsic curiosity to guide you, can help increase dopamine activity in the brain, boost memory and engagement and motivation. So allow yourself to pay close attention to what it is that you're curious about.
Now, this also implies that you have time to read, that you have time to be curious, right? You have time to consume anything at all. But even if it's just scrolling on your phone or listening to this very podcast, pay attention to what gets your attention, right? As Ezra Klein's been talking a lot about on his podcast, the attention economy is very much in demand. Your attention, your limited time, energy, and attention is highly in demand. So pay attention to who is getting your attention and allow that curiosity to fuel your further exploration into what it is that you're interested in and what feels purposeful and connecting to you.
And one final tactic that can help you reconnect to a sense of purpose and engagement is to try an energy audit. This is a tactic that I teach in a lot of my leadership development work with clients across a variety of industries, which is to ask yourself, at the end of your workday, just take 30 seconds to ask, what gave me energy today? And what gave drained me today? This is not about trying to fix the problem or solve for this or even avoid things that drain you, because everyone's day has things that drain us, right? Like everything, every job requires something that drains you. But it is about noticing the clues in your body and brain about what lights you up and how can you usher more of that into your life so that you can remind yourself of what gives you a sense of purpose and fulfillment to begin with. Even a tiny shift, like a one percent shift toward bringing in more energizing work can radically improve your engagement and transform your connection to the work at hand.
So if you've been feeling like you're losing your sense of purpose, challenge yourself to follow not only your curiosity, but your energy and see what is meaningful to you behind those moments. The fact of the matter is, re inspiration doesn't come from willpower, it comes from creating space. Space to ask better questions, space to actually hear your own inner answers, and space to engage in exploration. So take that walk, text this to a friend who could use a little reinvigoration in her career, and tag me the next time you reclaim a quiet moment to yourself. As a mom of two, I know how radical that alone can be.
So if today's episode helped, make sure to share it with the folks in your world who you know could use it. And DM me your favorite strategies for resetting your spark at work.
[OUTRO MUSIC]
As someone who's also feeling this sort of like, middle dip of motivation halfway through the year, I could use it myself. And until next time, let's keep bossin’ in pursuit of our purpose, and together let's lift as we climb.
[OUTRO MUSIC ENDS]
