As a career coach, I consistently meet with career coaching clients who feel they’ve lost their sense of purpose in their work. They want to feel more passionate about what they do on a daily basis, and they often feel their work is the culprit. They feel their boss, coworkers, office environment, monotony of their schedule, or cubicle are the reasons for their lack of excitement and motivation for their work and life.



However, the truth is that these factors are actually symptoms of a deeper issue that is the true culprit of their frustration. The deeper issue is that they’ve lost touch with what makes them feel alive and passionate about life.



Our jobs are an important way we express our strengths and talents, and a way for us to feel we’re making a contribution to the world. When our jobs do not allow for this expression, we no longer feel fully alive. Instead we feel frustrated, and our days can feel more like drudgery than excitement.



Therefore, if you’re currently dissatisfied with your job, before running to a job board to find openings, spend some time on the following steps:

• 1) Identify your strengths
  
  
  
  
  
  • What do people compliment you on?
    
    
    
  • What activities cause you to lose track of time because of your enjoyment?
    
    
    
  
  
• 2) Identify the contribution you want to make to the world
  
  
  
  
  
  • What issues do you get most passionate about?
    
    
    
  • How can you help contribute to the solutions around these issues?
    
  
  

By taking a look at these two issues, you are working with the real culprits to your dissatisfaction at work.