When starting a new career, we look at everything through rose-tinted glasses. We believe that this is where we fall in love with our choices, and we take the first crucial steps towards success. For the most part, this is true. However, there are very few people who will love their job forever, and sooner rather than later, the glasses will begin to slip, and you will start to realize that it is not all sunshine and rainbows. 

But what can you do? You can’t quit, that seems a little bit too dramatic. Still, you don’t want to be stuck in a job you hate for the rest of your life, even plenty of others are. The good news is that you don’t need to be stuck. You can fall back in love with your job, but it is not something that will happen overnight. If you feel your dream job is shifting closer to nightmare territory right before your eyes, here are six ways to fall in love with your job again. 

Consider What You Enjoy About It

When you start to feel your job just isn’t doing it for you anymore, one of the easiest and most effective ways to figure out whether it is still for you is to write a list. Yeah, it sounds a little too easy, almost painfully cliche, but it will help get your thoughts and feelings about the job (and in a way life itself) down onto paper, transforming them from abstract to something real. 

A pros and cons list will help you gain some clarity. However, while it’s easy to focus primarily on everything you despise about the job, it is better to look at the positives, at least at first. 

Consider the reasons you enjoy going to work, such as getting to spend time with your coworkers, helping people, or being involved in the industry you want to succeed in. By outlining these positives, you’re able to realize the job is worth sticking with, which could help you fall in love with it again. At the very least, it will make you appreciate what you currently have. 

Look For Ways to Progress 

A significant reason that people will fall out of love with their job is that they feel there is no chance for progression. This usually happens if you have been working in the same role since you joined, and you think you don’t know any more than you did on your first day. You don’t feel you have the responsibilities you hoped you’d have by now, and this means you’ve stagnated, especially when you compare yourself to friends, family, and other coworkers. 

You shouldn’t settle for staying in one place, though. There is a wide range of options available for you, including management programs such as a Data Science Strategy & Leadership postgraduate. This will provide concrete qualifications and back up your claims that you deserve more responsibility (and more pay would be excellent, too). 

However, you don’t always need to go back to school, especially if you’re unsure if you can juggle that with the rest of your life. Instead, consider mentorships or shadowing to give you the exposure and experience you will need to take the next step. 

Pass On Your Knowledge 

Even if you haven’t made the progress you hoped you had, you might still have a wealth of knowledge, and you can use this to your advantage both at work and at home. At work, you can task yourself with training and offering guidance to new hires if no one asks you to do it yourself, while at home, starting a blog or providing insight into the industry through social media could help you develop a dedicated following. 

Your knowledge could be vital to anyone you share it with. You’ll be able to guide recruits and offer thorough training, while your blog or social media posts could help others decide if life in this industry is right for them. What’s more, airing grievances could also prove cathartic and help you get plenty of issues off your chest. 

Sharing knowledge and information will make you feel like you have a purpose, and as nobody comes into a job knowing it all, it is a superb way to stabilize them and prevent any mishaps. 

Play to Your Strengths

One of the many reasons why people fall out of love with their job is that they are not doing what they want, nor what they are good at. Many employees will do everything their manager asks them to do. They want to seem like a team player, they don’t want to rock the boat, and with job security an uncertain thing in the 21st century, they don’t want to give any excuse for the boss to fire them. 

However, doing everything you’re asked will cause fatigue and stress. This will severely impact your performance and cause plenty of sleepless nights, which creates a vicious cycle that can be difficult to get out from. 

If you consider yourself better at talking to clients, put your name forward to do that. If you prefer working behind the scenes and believe you are mo0re effective there, explain to your manager. They will usually understand, and this will also enable others to shine alongside you. 

Fix What’s Broken

Fixing whatever is broken at your job is another possible way to start loving your career once again. Of course, not many people have the authority to do this, but you don’t need to carry out full-scale changes. Instead, you should start by changing what you know you can control. 

It’s best to start with the first thing when you wake up, which is usually your breakfast. Maybe you don’t always have time to eat. In this case, get up a little easier to make sure you’re pumped full of energy. After this, there is the commute. If you hate being stuck in traffic, look for alternative routes or options to get to work. 

As for the office, there are plenty of broken things to consider, including wasting time on tedious tasks, for which automation could be the solution. There might also be a toxic work environment full of gossip and backstabbing. Try to push yourself away from this environment and focus solely on your success. 

Change Your Perspective 

The more you start to feel your job isn’t right for you, the more you will pick up on the little things. These seemingly minor issues may not be a big deal, but you feel they are yet another example of the nonsense you must deal with daily with everything else going on. 

However, such a negative attitude will only make things worse, and it can be challenging to come back from it. You should work to change your perspective to overcome this. 

Rather than get irritated over the little things, start looking at them as quirks. Consider them an example of the absurd nature of your work. You can do the same with gossiping coworkers. Instead of getting drawn in, you should think about why they are like this and feel satisfied that you aren’t so insecure that you need to criticize everybody behind their back. 

Love At Second Sight

It can often feel as if you’ll never love your job again, but you will grin and bear it because what other choice do you have? However, you can rediscover the spark that made you fall in love with your career in the first place, and you might find yourself making moves and progress that you always thought about but never seriously considered.