Zeal is the engine that drives us.
It’s our energized enthusiasm that gets us out of bed every morning ready to fulfill our life’s purpose.
At some point in life, you may feel that your energy starts to drop and you have to strength to fight for your purpose. And that is completely understandable.
“I’m one of those energetic people who loves going to work, bringing new ideas, and trying out new things.”, said Sarah.
You must have been very enthusiastic and purpose-driven at the beginning of your career, and even outside the office walls.
“I love meeting deadlines at work, making time for my family, and I feel very fulfilled when I am doing the things I love, passionate, and purpose-driven.”, continues Sarah. “For as long as I can remember I have always been passionate and purposeful. It came naturally to me.”
“Until it didn’t. I lost my zeal and purpose. I don’t have a reason to live life fully and working unexpectedly became a burden to me.”, she explains. “My work became very tasking, I couldn’t make time for my family, I had no energy, zeal, purpose. It felt as if my life was on pause.”
Losing Your Zeal and Purpose
Many of you are experiencing the same thing as Sarah. It’s as if you had no energy to move forward.
If you are feeling this way, I want you to know that it’s completely natural. It happens. But it probably didn’t happen overnight.
You did not wake up one day to realize that the switch had been flipped. It was a process and what you didn’t know was that you were losing a bit of yourself each passing day.
We’re all so busy juggling through work and life, trying desperately to achieve work-life balance – that we don’t often hear the inner spirit telling us to unplug and let it come naturally.
“When I lose sight of my purpose and why I started in the first place, I lose my joy,” said Sarah. “I look back now and I realize that I was beating myself up thinking that I can do multiple things at a time to achieve inner satisfaction.”
If you are constantly feeling that something is missing in your work-life balance – and you can’t put your finger on it – it could be YOU.
So, I’m asking you, what’s important to you? What does “balance” mean to you? How can you get back your zeal and drive and get back a great work-life balance?
“As I began noticing that I was the missing piece in my work-life balance system, I decided to do things that bring me joy – both at work and home – no matter how little it seems.”, she explains, “I looked beyond what I was great at doing, and I shifted my focus to things that were fun and made me felt good.”
“At work, it was making coffee for my co-workers and watching them grin after one sip”, Sarah added. “Outside of work, I took up writing and I visited the bookstore often. It doesn’t sound like fun, but writing down my emotions opened my heart.”
Determine what “balance” mean to you
For most people, each time they think of work-life balance, they tend to lean towards the ‘life’ aspect.
However, work is as essential as living. It’s your means of livelihood. You need a way to balance both without feeling overwhelmed.
How do you set your priorities in your life – both professional and personal? You need to work and enjoy your life. Learn to separate personal from professional. Have separate to-do lists, schedules, and be realistic.
Let’s imagine a situation.
You are at work, and you have loads of important stuff to finish. The deadline is approaching – and you have to pick up your relative from the airport who is arriving in your city for the first time during work hours.
If you are someone who doesn’t care about your personal life, you will refuse to pick up your relative and continue your work. You may find someone else to do it or ask the relative to find her way around the city.
For someone who cares more about personal life, you will most likely take half-day off to pick your relative and get back to work during the evening – don’t forget you have a deadline to meet.
Which would you do?
Balance doesn’t mean neglecting one for the other, it means finding little time for both.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Most people are too comfortable and they’ve lost what it feels like to hustle. You may not likely be rich, but you don’t also remember what it felt like when you started.
That’s a great feeling, but it makes people lose their drive and motivation. If you are anything like them, you probably found a nice niche and you are making some good money. However, the work doesn’t satisfy you because of its monetary base. You make good money without working 8 hours every day, but you don’t feel as if you’re making a difference.
Learn to find a reason to love what you are doing – no matter how little it is. If you don’t find a reason to wake up each day and get to work, you will lose your zeal and purposefulness.
So, today, think and reflect on the one thing you love doing at work and make it the center of your world.
Listen to what brings you joy
Igniting and fueling your purpose means listening to what makes your heart sing. “When I find myself low on energy, the first thing I do is to ask myself: What can I do to realign with my purpose? What can restore the joy I felt yesterday?”
Take out time for yourself – leave work and family – and feed YOUR soul. Even just a few bites a day can do wonders and bring significant changes.
If you are the one missing, try living out a little.
Surf the internet and read the latest posts from your favorite blog. Or go for a walk in the park, read a passage from a book, or do whatever makes you happy.
Conclusion
Now, it’s time to start creating a more balanced life. And this begins by finding what makes you happy and making time for yourself.
It’s completely natural to lose your sense of purpose at a point in your life, but always remind yourself of why you started in the first place.
Building a great and healthy mindset in your work and life is a great starting point to:
- Becoming more present in your life
- Regaining your zeal and purpose.
- Separating your work and life and creating boundaries.
- Letting go of unimportant things.
