If you’re feeling stuck and dispassionate, you may be lacking energy and vitality. Learn how to rediscover it and get back to moving forward at your highest level.
Webster’s Dictionary defines “vitality” as “the capacity to live and develop.” To expand upon this concept, we at KeenAlignment define “vitality” as energy. It is the essence of life and a wellspring of passion.
The Problem
Unfortunately, many people are struggling to find and keep vitality for themselves. They are stuck grinding their way through each work week, going through the motions, and lacking joy and passion in their day-to-day activities.
Does this sound familiar?
According to studies by Gallup, employee engagement in the U.S. has been declining the last couple years. This has not happened in over a decade.
One of the reasons for this is a lack of passion and excitement in the work people do. They lack vitality in their work. Because of this, most people don’t have vitality in the rest of their life either.
Rediscovering Your Vitality
Finding a job that gives you satisfaction and drives you to perform at your best can be key to having vitality. Even if you don’t fully enjoy your job, finding particular aspects or tasks that spark your interest or excitement can go a long way towards increasing your passion for your work. If you can, try to avoid jobs that are a complete chore for you to perform, or worse yet, jobs that you can’t stand doing.
Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to work a job that they are excited about, interested in, or engaged with. There are a multitude of reasons why people do work they don’t enjoy, necessity and expectations being just a couple of them. These reasons are also a cause of the high levels of career changes among the workforce.
Fortunately, there is a way to increase your vitality without changing the work that you do. The key is balance.
Finding balance in your life allows you to tap into the energy and passion that has eluded you.
Specifically, having balance between the different domains of your life is what increases your vitality. The different domains consist of the following:
1. Career: your professional life and the pursuit of meaningful work. It includes your job or occupation, career goals, and the role your work plays in your life. It involves finding job satisfaction, achieving career milestones, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
2. Fun and Recreation: leisure and enjoyment in life. It encompasses activities and pastimes that bring joy, relaxation, and a sense of rejuvenation. Fun and recreation are essential for reducing stress, fostering creativity, and providing a break from the daily routine.
3. Money and Finances: Money and finances refer to your financial stability and management. This domain involves budgeting, saving, investing, and making informed financial decisions. It is crucial for securing your financial future and ensuring peace of mind.
4. Physical Environment: your living space and surroundings. It includes the organization, aesthetics, and comfort of your home or workplace. A well-maintained physical environment can contribute to a sense of calm, efficiency, and well-being.
5. Personal Growth: the continuous process of learning and self-improvement. This domain involves setting and achieving personal goals, expanding your knowledge, developing new skills, and growing as an individual.
6. Health and Well-being: your physical and mental health. This domain encompasses maintaining a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition, exercise, and stress management. It involves seeking emotional and physical well-being and preventing illness or burnout.
7. Friends: your social connections and relationships with friends. It includes nurturing and maintaining friendships, building a support network, and spending quality time with people who contribute positively to your life.
8. Family: your relationships with family members, including parents, siblings, and extended family. Balancing this domain involves fostering positive family relationships, setting boundaries, and making time for family activities and commitments.
9. Significant Others: your relationships with partners or spouses. It involves nurturing loving, meaningful partnerships, communicating openly, and supporting each other's well-being. Balancing this domain is vital for maintaining healthy and harmonious relationships.
You may not care about all these domains and that’s okay. Pick the ones that are important to you. But make sure that you are balancing time for each domain that you care about.
If you’re only focusing on your career and not spending time in any other domain, you are going to eventually feel overworked and burnt out.
Likewise, if you spend most of your time in fun and recreation unless you’re already financially secure, you’ll eventually find yourself in trouble with money and finances.
Achieving balance among these domains may require regular self-assessment, goal setting, and conscious efforts to allocate time and resources according to your values and priorities. Your ideal balance may evolve over time, so it's important to periodically reassess and adjust as needed to maintain your vitality and overall well-being.
But it is possible, and the results pay dividends. A life of balance is a life of vitality.
Happy November,
The KeenAlignment Team
Big News! We are excited to announce that, due to popular demand, our Ignite Your Power retreat is now an in-person event. If you’re looking to hone your leadership skills and discover your passion and purpose, join us for four days in beautiful Sonoma, California, and Ignite Your Power!