Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Recharge Your Batteries

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to two career classes at Central High School in Duluth.  I enjoyed talking with these young people as they prepare for graduation and embark on an unknown future.  Their excitement and passion for the future was truly inspiring and contagious.  I came away with my batteries recharged.

Sometimes it’s difficult to have excitement and passion in the workplace. We get in the so called rut of showing up, doing our time, and leaving at the end of the day.  I’m sure that all of us have had days like this on the job.

Is being excited and having passion on the job important? For me it is!

Here are some ideas for building passion in the workplace.

First, understand that what you do is important. If you don’t think it is, then take a few moments to write down why you are doing this job or this task.  If you can generate enough whys, you will generate the passion that you seek.  This will also make your job more compelling. This is one task that can generate huge benefits for you and your teammates.

Perhaps there are activities that you can do away from the job. For me, working with the youth, going fly fishing, or giving presentations to audiences really gives me energy and passion. I can then bring that energy to work. I’m sure that you have other activities that recharge your batteries. Whatever they are, make sure that you give yourself enough time to do these activities. You can then carry that energy back to the work that you do.

Finally, choosing a more uplifting and empowering attitude will allow us to find excitement and passion in any task. Sometimes we do get assigned to tasks that have no excitement inherent within them. If we start with the right attitude, and understand that the task is important, we can make the task more fun and exciting.

All of us want a workplace filled with energy and passion.  Did any of you say to yourself on the way in this morning, “I sure hope everyone is in a bad mood and that I have a lousy day?” Of course not!

I challenge all of us to learn from the young people out there that are so energetic, passionate and ready for the future.  Let us look for ways to keep our batteries charged. We too, with some effort, can have passion on the job.  Remember, what we do matters! How we do it, matters even more!