When you’ve been working in a career for a while, it’s natural to get into a rhythm. Honestly, that’s a good goal to have. After all, you can’t keep up the pace of a young professional, full of vim and vigor and ready to take on the world.

Unless of course, you’re willing to change some things up. Once you’ve done a lot of work in one area of your profession and you feel successful, it’s hard to bask in that success for too long. You might get away with it for a year or two, but it’s not a healthy professional lifestyle, that’s for sure.

Especially when you’re achieving at a high level. You don’t get to be a high achieving professional unless you have aspirations to be a higher achieving professional.

On the other end of the spectrum, you might find that after all the work you’ve done - after all the effort you’ve put in - you don’t feel effective any more. Worse, you might see your work as a losing proposition.

You don’t think anything you do (or have done) makes all that much of a difference.

And then you might think, ‘I never really mattered anyway.’

That’s when cynicism creeps in. And that’s part of where I found my burnout.

I became very cynical about a job and career that I was once so passionate about that I would stop at nothing when attempting to do my job effectively.

I didn’t give up on my message and my values, but I started to realize that I was living a losing proposition. I was trying to shed light on what was best for my profession - light that was backed by a tremendous amount of research - but very few wanted to hear it.

Before I knew it, and before I could have ever become aware of it, I was too far gone. Ultimately, I was unable to recover from that cynicism.

To exacerbate the situation, my passion for the work caused me to lose focus on what really mattered to me - my family, my health. That ended in divorce, financial difficulties, and some health issues, etc.

Situation: Exacerbated…

If cynicism is creeping into your professional life, here’s something you can do: You can ask for something new to do.

I know that seems counterintuitive, but hear me out.

I was able to reinvigorate my career for a couple of years by asking for a new role in the organization. I didn’t word it like this, but in reality, this is how it might have sounded to my leaders.

“I have tried to do the work I set out to do and that you hired me for, but I feel like I am unable to succeed because what I am doing is clearly not a priority. I’m becoming really cynical and discouraged by this, so I would like to make this move so that I can get back my fire.”

I was granted the move, and it was great. I felt so much better - I felt like the work I was doing actually mattered.

This is why I encourage people to ask for something new in their careers. A person can rediscover their passion for their work when they take on a new assignment. They will see their work in a new light. They can see their work as part of the larger picture, but because it’s new, they will see that larger picture in a new light.

There are a number of ways this can be accomplished, but they are unique to any given situation and profession.

Here’s what’s not unique, no matter your career: You must start by paying attention to what’s possible.

Most people don’t do this. Most people don’t want to be “aware” because when they’re in a professional rhythm, it’s hard to break the routine.

Awareness will definitely break up the routine.

Most people aren’t aware that they can be aware in the first place.

I’m encouraging you to become aware of your awareness. Make awareness one of your superpowers.

When you put your awareness to use, there’s no limit to what you’ll discover.