Sustaining Passion for Your Day Job

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I walked into the building for my first day at the office. My outfit was carefully constructed and every hair in its place. I was ready to hit the ground running and become “Employee of the Month” on day one. I sat down to begin working on things that were sure to be riveting, engaging, and intellectually stimulating . . . only to find a stack of papers that needed to be filed in alphabetical order, folders that needed to be labeled, and a glitchy computer. This is the narrative every time I start a new job.

Passion for one’s job is a tricky thing to maintain. It can often feel like a firecracker that bursts into flames and quickly fizzles out. If you’re like me, the lows of passion are much more present than the highs. Passion is a powerful motivator, so what should we do when it wanes? How can we remain consistent in our work, parenting, volunteering, and church-going even when our feelings of passion fade?

Stages of Passion

From the initial waves of excitement about a new job to the burnout stage where you’re contemplating quitting, we’ve all had our own experiences with attempting to live passion-filled lives at work. For me, it’s helpful to identify which stage of passion I’m in, which one I’m heading toward, and which one needs cultivating.

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