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All of these are doable and can make a HUGE difference to your attitude to work and life – and help you rediscover your purpose. What can you do today to bring you closer to your dream?
1. Make a list of those things you’d never want to give up
When we look at self-improvement or trying to reach our dreams, we often focus on the things we have to give up to get there. Want to lose weight? Give up your favourite foods. Want to buy a house? Give up spending on anything fun.
This ideal is actually quite negative so shift your perspective to the things you never want to give up and concentrate on those that will keep you on your path. Some things to kickstart your list could include, not giving up:
2. Look beyond the daily tasks
While we love a ‘To Do’ list here at This Girl Is On Fire, you can become a slave to it, which in turn causes stress and can make you forget what path you were on.
Yes, we need to get the washing and cooking done at home and the returning of emails and hitting deadlines at work, but don’t forget to look at the bigger picture regularly.
Make sure some of those daily tasks are actually helping you achieve your purpose and include them on your daily list, however small. If you’re saving for your dream house, for example, you could put ‘Find a mortgage broker’ on your list or ‘Sign up to alerts from local estate agents’ – that way when you tick them off, you know you’re one step closer to achieving your dream.
3. Facilitate change within your organisation
We spend a huge chunk of our time at work, so when our work life isn’t happy, then nor is our life outside of the 9-5 hustle. One option is obviously to look for a new job, but in the current climate that might not be doable, so why not look at the things you can change. Could you find a mentor in another department to help you rediscover your passion? Or even reduce your hours so you can contribute to a voluntary organisation that gives you more purpose?
There is always something you can do to change the picture, so try before you take the leap. And if you don’t like the workplace culture, stand up and be counted – say something. After all, as the playwright George Bernard Shaw said: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
4. Bring your whole self to work
Do you have a work persona and an ‘at home’ persona? If so, it’s time to merge the two. To really enjoy our jobs, we must be willing to bring our whole self to the workplace.
But what does this actually mean? It means being authentic, showing humility and remembering that we’re all human beings just trying to do our best. It also means taking risks, speaking up and crucially, asking for help when you really need it.
5. Think about funding your purpose – instead of finding it
This may seem impossible right now, but is it? Are you able to squirrel away even the smallest amount every month into a savings fund labelled ‘Dream holiday’, ‘Fitness trainer for one year’ or ‘Deposit for my one-day home’?
Yes, they may be light years away from you right now, but you aren’t getting any closer to them by doing nothing.
