Something is missing in your professional life? You wish for more soul-filling activities?
You wonder if you are going through a mid-career crisis.
Life is not that bad. Your job allows you to live your current lifestyle: you look forward to taking some time off in Hawaii in two weeks from now. You smile in your car on your way back home. It will be so relaxing to disconnect from “urgent” emails flowing into your inbox.
You haven’t smiled that much lately. You spend most of your evening commute listening to the same songs on the radio with mixing thoughts between how late you are for dinner and the exhausting meetings spent with no real decision made.
Deep inside you aspire to an exciting change with your job.
Your days have become too predictable: delivering more results with less resources. The guilt of not spending enough quality time with your family also weighs on your shoulders.
Tired of that life?
What if, instead of changing job, you work on a new project? More precisely, a personal project?
Too busy?
Let’s see below how to add more fulfillment to your life without feeling overwhelmed.
High achievers need more than a goal
You love having a mission to accomplish. The more challenging it is, the more excited you get.
You like this little dose of adrenaline that helps you stay out the boredom zone.
However, navigating through the same politics at work drains you. It’s not fun.
Getting things done for the sake of getting things done is no longer sufficient.
You want more satisfaction with what you do.
Every day, the misalignment between your work and your values makes it harder for you to wake up energized.
It’s time to shake things up and get you out of bed motivated with an uplifting project. A mission that is aligned with your values. An activity that brings you more fulfillment.
[Tweet “Creating a more fulfilling life is worth your time.”]
Your idea is around the corner
Wonder which idea to choose?
If you are frustrated with meaningless activities at work, deep inside you might already have activities you would like to explore but never found the time for them.
Or do you have a passion idea you would like to realize? Life is too short. What are you waiting for? What is the first step that you could take toward making it happen?
Too many ideas? Pick the one that you would regret the most not doing if tomorrow was your last chance to make it happen.
No ideas at all? What matters to you in life? What are you curious about? Any creative skills you would like to gain? Are you interested in a specific self-development topic?
Don’t overthink.
If you were only given 30 seconds to close your eyes and think about one thing you would love to do, what would come to your mind?
Do it for 30 days
You picked your idea.
If you were given 30 days to work on your project, what could you do within that time frame?
Here are examples of activities that you could pursue for a month:
- Learn a skill by practicing it every day
- Start blogging
- Join a 30 day creative challenge
Why 30 days? In my own experience, due to the learning curve, I sometimes build resistance toward spending time on a personal project during the first couple of weeks.
When I pass 15 days in a row on my project, I start getting more comfortable with the routine and I don’t want to give up. After two weeks, I also have a better idea about the benefit I gain from doing the challenge.
If the daily process brings more drudgery than joy, I would decide to stop the project.
If you prefer a different length of time, go for it. Set a deadline so that you have a specific date to decide whether to continue or not your project.
Stop the project if you have no regret about it. Free your mind and focus on new possibilities.
Start simple.
Don’t be too ambitious. You don’t have to bring your project to completion by the end of the 30 days.
Enjoy your daily actions rather than the destination.
Be realistic.
Start with 30 minutes per day dedicated to your project and see if you need to adjust the time frame.
Seek for accountability
You will increase your chance of sticking to your daily schedule using the power of your network or of a like-minded community.
Share what you do. Could you report your progress to a friend on a daily basis? Join a tribe where people are working on projects similar to yours.
Interacting with them will help keep you accountable on your own activity.
If you need external help to learn a skill, look for courses or online challenges that allow their students to connect with each other. For example, in past photography challenges, I joined few online groups that motivated me to post my photos on a daily basis.
It is more fun to share your progress with others and see what your peers do too.
Another benefit is that you end up connecting with new friends along your journey.
If you need specific guidance for your project, such as a side-business, consider working with a mentor or a coach.
Witness the changes
You thrive when you break through challenges.
Expanding your comfort zone is exciting.
It won’t be easy every day.
Exploring new possibilities is worth your effort. Each time you overcome your challenges, you become more confident and gain clarity on what you want to do or not.
You wake up with an uplifting activity to spend time on every day. When you have a tough day at work, pause for few minutes. Take a break and think about how your passion project makes you feel. Your bad day will soon fade in your mind.
You have a different legacy to create.
You become more efficient with your time as you only have 24 hours in a day. Spending time on an additional project will force you to spend less time on activities that are not as meaningful as your project.
You learn to decide intentionally about how you want to spend your time.
A new sense of achievement
Embrace your daily actions and observe how much you accomplish in a month.
You have control over how you would like to feel every day.
If you realize that you are not passionate about your project, that conclusion is also a success. You are free to move on to new ideas instead of wondering “what if”.
Try something new and more fulfilling for 30 days.
Quit your transition phase and start your own adventure.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Need help to measure your daily progress? Click the button below to download your free 30 day tracking table.
I believe that we achieve greater success when we stay true to our core values. My mission is to help you clarify your brand vision so you don’t waste time and money on random marketing activities.
Love the post Thuy! Especially how you point out that change takes time, and if you give it enough time, you can witness the change and start to experience a sense of achievement. Well done.
Hello Terry,
Indeed, depending on the change, it can take days like it can take months. The most important thing is to not give up if the impact is important to us.