Why do I feel so empty and unfulfilled in my profession? How do I overcome this?

Sometimes we feel empty and unfilled in our profession, especially if we have been doing it for so long. Sometimes it is best to try something new. We learn something new every day, and everyone is entitled to learn a new skill. Sometimes when we've been working in a profession for too long, we get bored and tired of doing it. It is okay to try something new and find a place where we feel happy and enjoy what we do. For those that want to stay in their profession, try to keep an open mind and learn new skills within the profession.

There could be many reasons why you may feel unfulfilled with your current profession, like a lack of versatility and/or change in your career and even you just simply just growing out of the profession you're in. As humans, our likes and interests change and that can cause us dissatisfaction with those previous likes and interests we used to have. The first thing I would say is to accept the fact that you may have to make changes in your career to gain the fulfillment you desire to have. There is a possibility that change may not have to occur and in this situation, I would suggest you list some career goals/challenges you would like to achieve over a 6 month time period. This can help you gain some motivation behind your work and potentially the fulfillment you wish to have. If you would like to have a more into depth conversation please message me!! I wish you nothing but the best :)

If you find yourself showing signs of burnout at work, you need to do something about it. Here are some tips to help you make a difference. • Sometimes people feel bad at work because they don't know how to ask others for help. Take some time today to think about it. Why is it difficult for you to ask for help? What scares you about asking for help? What do you think of other people when they ask for help? Have you had any experience in your life when you asked for help and it ended well? • Start keeping a list of your accomplishments. Remember what you did and write it down. When it seems to you that you have only failures, mistakes and problems - take a look at this list. This will help you remember successes and relieve guilt and feelings of incompetence. • It is important to have a long-term goal and remember why you go to work at all. Remember that work is one of the important areas of life, but not the only one. • Can be burned out by completely merging with work. To maintain balance, it is important to rely on other areas of life: close relationships and hobbies. • Remember that both quantity and sleep patterns are important. Getting lack of sleep on weekdays, but getting enough sleep on weekends is a bad idea. After a lack of sleep on weekdays, efficiency and well-being are drastically reduced, and weekend sleep breaks down. It is important to get as much sleep as you need all the time.

Sometimes, especially after several years, our jobs can start to feel "stagnant." We might feel different ways like bored, complacent, "going through the motions", etc. I have felt this way as I have been at my job for almost 12 years. I try to find new challenges wherever I can. Sometimes the are small and may only be temporary, but it can help me to feel "re-energized" and motivated. Even something small like reorganizing the office, going through and storing or trashing outdated files and documents, "digitizing" and scanning in files and documents to create less clutter, reaching out to a supervisee to give an impromptu pep talk or performance review or asking a supervisor/boss for a project to take on. Any of these things could rustle loose that dormant enthusiasm I once had before I felt like I got into a rut. Constantly wanting to feel like we are relevant and that we matter is what helps us feel fulfilled in our careers. As we reach our goals that can be reason for celebration, but it can also mean we start to feel like we are running out of goals. As we progress it might mean we have to get a little more creative, but there is always room to learn, improve and create more goals.

I think if you are feeling unfulfilled in your profession, its time to rethink what you really want to do. This is not always constant as you move to different stages of life, what you want to do also keeps changing. It is never constant. So take this as a trigger to rethinking what do you want to do now in the present. Is it similar to what you are currently doing or completely different I think it is wise to quit what you are currently doing and do what you really like doing. There is only one life to live so we should always try our best to do what we really want to do. If you are not able to quit, atleast make a plan when you can start doing what you like.

Reevaluate what you want from life. If your profession does not align with your goals I think it would be wise to think about what your interests are and look at those career paths. We only have one life; let's live it in the best way we can and enjoy every day. In saying that, the way you feel is very common and I empathize with you so much. Some times if it is possible for you, it helps to take a vacation and go abroad to clear your thoughts and think about what direction would be best for you to take in life. I wish you all the best