“Bored-out”? Mindset hacks to re-invigorate motivation
“Bored-out”? Mindset hacks to re-invigorate your motivation
It was six years ago during the peak of Sydney summertime. I recall being slumped at my desk, peering out the window at what appeared to be the most beautiful summer’s day.
If I squinted long enough, I could almost see a slice of ocean.
Of course, I couldn’t feel the heat from the 14th story of a highly air-conditioned high-rise building.
I wondered how much more of my life I would waste in a job that didn’t fulfil me. At one point, the work was enough; it was providing a baseline level of motivation and stability. But I had stopped learning and could practically do the job with my eyes closed.
I thought about how I could grow within the company but that didn’t excite me either.
I knew for certain something had to change, but unfortunately I would have to wait.
I had started the lengthy process for an Australian permanent residency visa three years prior and if I had quit then , I would have to start all over again - the paperwork, the lawyers, the insane costs.
I was just so bored. I discovered boredom becomes toxic when you are in it for too long.
This phenomenon is referred to as “bored-out.”This state is characterised by bouts of frustration, prolonged stares outside the window, emotional eating, an excess of alcoholic beverages on a Friday night and worst of all - loss of motivation, confidence, and sense of self.
I had no choice but to wait it out until my permanent residency arrived and so I was forced to learn resilience and mental hacks that would relieve my bored-out symptoms.
During this time I learnt some of the most impactful mindset hacks to increase my motivation – and you know what? It worked.
I successfully re-energised myself in a job I had been bored in for years. I managed to squeeze this lemon and uncovered so much more juice from my day-to-day life. If it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I’m now in a job I absolutely love; armed with the tools to help others who are facing what I went through.
Re-align with your core values
If you are feeling disconnected with your company and your company's values, it’s a great time to reconnect with your own!
In my case, my company had identified decent values, but they didn’t embody them. They were more of the set-and-forget kind of values.
I took a simple values test known as Values In Action (VIA). My top value came out as honesty - this resonated so much, and made sense as to why I felt incongruent with my current company at the time.
So, what did I do? I did everything in my power to embody my most sacred value of honesty.
I went the extra mile to give honest, well thought out feedback to my team, my clients and my boss. They appreciated it so much, and I even formed new friendships and bonds during this time.
I received amazing feedback from clients who hadn’t experienced the level of candour I had offered from other people they worked with.
2. Play to your strengths
Not enough people quite understand the transformational impact of harnessing our core strengths more in our day-to-day life.
Did you know: it’s easier and quicker to turn a natural strength into a talent than to turn a weakness into a strength?
So if you are using your weaknesses in your day to day, it’s like going against your deeply ingrained, hard-wiring. If you are competing with someone doing the same task and it is an innate strength of theirs – good luck!
Whereas when you use your own strengths, you are intrinsically motivated, energised, you light up! You are also more likely to experience the coveted flow state:
Psychologist Mihal Csikszentmihalyi coined the term to describe “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it” (1990).
We can increasingly harness flow in our work by finding the flow-sweet-spot between challenge and ease! The best way to do this is by taking on more challenging tasks in the areas of your top strengths.
With the Clifton Strengths Finder, I identified my top strengths in the bracket of relationship building - such as empathy, connection, and development. I proposed to my boss that we develop new training modules in order to support the team’s development. This was immediately accepted and I began to roll out training in line with my team's needs - this was a first for me and a great learning opportunity, one of my proudest accomplishments.
3. Invest in your own professional growth
One of the biggest game-changers in my life was the realisation that the more I put into myself, the more I would get out of this one short life. That meant literally investing in myself, my growth, and my learning.
At this time, I hadn’t spent money on learning since my undergraduate degree in psychology more than 10 years ago. Now, I was about to go back to University in Australia as a foreign student and invest a significant portion of my savings into a postgraduate degree in Positive Psychology.
And? It was the best money I ever spent. My motivation increased and I had a new lease of life - my cup was so full since I was learning something I was truly passionate and excited about. I was surrounded by new people, equally as excited about the topic as I was. I formed new bonds, made connections and experienced the love of learning for the first time in years.
Once I got over the initial fear of dropping such a significant amount of cash on learning, it became easier and now I regularly put a decent portion of my earnings back into my own growth.
Spending money this way develops your mind, your network, your opportunities, and your future earning potential. It's literally a win win win!
To give you an idea of my spending on professional development this past year or so:
€8000 on courses
€3000 on coaches
€1200 on public speaking training
And it was worth every penny!
Once you start treating yourself as your most valuable asset, everything changes.
Need a guide for where to invest?
Try writing a letter to your future self and ask your future self these questions:
Where do I want to be in 5 years and 10 years?
What do I need to develop to get there?
What is stopping me from being that person today?
What do I need to learn?
Where can I improve?
