Effortless Thursdays #32: Finding your way when you've lost your way
Reclaim the joy in your work
I was hiking last weekend.
It was Day 12 of the Pennine Way - the Alston to Greenhead section - but for the first time, I wanted to give up.    Â
Day 12 passes the Rubicon between two counties in England: Cumbria and Northumberland.
We crisscrossed the River Tyne and its tributaries many times. As we crossed one tributary, Gilderdale Burn, the sound of the water offered a reassuring, refreshing calmness as we started the 16-mile hike.
But halfway through Day 12, I became seriously frustrated. I wanted to give up. I started wondering why I was doing the Pennine Way at all.
Was it the destination, the goal?
Maybe it was the achievement of hiking 268 miles?
Or the bragging rights of joining a club that's completed it?
A path away from joy at work
Day 12 started off perfectly. The weather was ideal for hiking: no rain, not too sunny, and neither too hot nor too cold. And the grass was soft and cushioning under our boots.
But day 12 became one of the toughest days of the Way.
It was more difficult than I had imagined. The second half turned from short, soft grass under foot to boggy, wet marsh with tall rushes. It felt like wading through treacle with wet boots.
The air became heavy and humid. And the horseflies seemed to love biting us. Something you only realise the day after when the itchiness and swelling of the bites kicks in.
Sometimes the path disappeared, too, leaving us wondering whether we were still headed in the right direction.
It just didn't feel fun any more.
In many ways, it's like how our careers - or even just work - can be. We start with the best of intentions, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Everything is new and going well.
And then (perhaps) the boredom sets in. There's a monotony in repeating the things you've already mastered.
Just like the hiking conditions on Day 12, your environment at work can change in an instant. You have to work from home, or you have to go back to the office. Your close colleagues leave. You feel unfulfilled.
You forget the reason you started on your work path in the first place, but for some reason, you keep on going.
My clients frequently experience this: the initial joy and spark in starting their careers turns into something that's simply endured.
A path towards working with joy
One of the things I love helping my clients do is reclaiming the joy for what they do.
So inspired by Day 12 of the Pennine Way, here are three ways to bring back the joy in your work and your career.
1. Forge your own path
Sometimes when you're starting out, it's helpful to know exactly where you're going.
Whilst at university, I chose to train as a lawyer. But it happened by default: there was nothing else I really wanted to do.
You could say that I was following signposts someone else had put up, just like the ones marking the Pennine Way.
It was helpful to get oriented, to become familiar, to gain confidence travelling a path others had travelled.
With that comes the confidence and courage to meander - to explore "going off the beaten track" - because you can always come back to follow a familiar acorn sign.
If you're reading this now, feeling stuck at work or not able to see beyond the next year, imagine what it would be like if you created your own path with your own sign.
Who might be inspired to follow your path?
2. There's no wrong path
Sometimes we can obsess about being on the right career path, particularly when we think about the energy we invest in work.
What if the path is wrong?Â
Will it be worth it?
What will I be sacrificing?
The "right" career path can help answer those commonly asked, but inherently meaningless questions, like: "What do you do for work?"
We crossed many streams and brooks on Day 12.
If I had turned to follow one of the tributaries, it would have meandered its way to meet the River Tyne. Every other of those tributaries would have done the same.
Yet, each would have been a different experience.
Different trees, flowers, contours, horseflies, birdsong.
Sometimes the right path is the one that offers you a rich experience and still takes you to your destination.
3. The path to joy
I've noticed time and time again common characteristics that my clients speak about enthusiastically -Â and focus on - when joy is present in their work.
It's when they understand and strive to achieve four things:
Where they do their best work
        Eg anything about the physical space, location, temperature, cleanliness, commuting distance
When they work best
        Eg Not only time of the day, but duration, breaks, relationship to deadlines, timelines
With whom do they work their best
        Eg Alone? In teams? In the buzz of an office?
What they are doing when they do their best work
        Eg What tasks are you best at?
When those four factors align, it's easy to feel that you belong. Â
Over to you!
As for me feeling lost on the Pennine Way, I know I’m at my best when I’m outdoors in nature, feeling connected and alive. It enhances my creativity - I get most of my brainwaves from hiking outdoors, just like the idea for this edition of Effortless Thursdays.
How about you?
How do you reclaim the joy for what you do?
Do you need to bring the joy back into your work?Â
Are you stuck in a rut in your career and can’t see how to forge a different path for yourself?Â
Are you keen on creating your own acorn signposts and charting a path for your work and career that leave you feeling joyful?
I’ve done that for my clients, and if you’re interested in reclaiming the joy in what you do, get in touch and we can set up a 20-minute conversation to explore what you want.
That’s it for this week!
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To your health and success!
Eric
The first pic looks just like the Windows XP default background!
Great article though, Eric. Being comfortable finding your own path is something that takes a lot of introspection. For me, it usually requires some bigger life events or changes to help me truly prioritize where I am going.
Getting metaphor for talking about challenges on the career path. Or should I say "meadow-for" - considering the terrain you are following. You kept saying day 12, but how many days are there in your trek?? 268 miles is quite the hike! I just want to reflect that you are way-finder for others. I was just today go over the Otter transcript of my session with you, and not only was the session amazing, I think even more useful is the transcript record of where you took me, which is serving as a map of sorts right now to keep me going in the right direction. So many thanks, and I'm cheering for you to make it to the end. If it were me talking to you about stopping, I think you would ask me to put myself into the future and ask what it feels like to look back and celebrate that I completed that journey. Though I have to admit, mobs of horseflies would give me great pause as well. : )