My response is based on my own career journey. I believe we should enter each job with a list of what we can learn and how it can help us grow as a professional and a leader. However, I was in my last corporate position close to 12 years. My job became rather routine. Instead of falling into despair, I’m also an optimist, I decided to see how I could control my future within the company. With little guidance I found areas of opportunity and volunteered to take on projects to become an expert in that area. I learned a lot from doing that which is what has helped me succeed as a founder and business owner so it served a greater purpose.

Figure out what you get to learn each day that will help prepare you for whatever is next. I remember being told that a position I wanted would be on hold for a year due to budgetary reasons. I decided that I would look at every work event and situation as an opportunity to learn something that was going to help me be better at this new position. By adopting a Learner’s Mindset, I gained so many experiences and insights into how I SHOWed UP that allowed me to have a phenomenal year and better prepared me for my new role.

When I’m dreading going into the office or feel unmotivated or have any other symptoms of depletion, I seek out people who can change my thinking. It’s amazing how many people at the company you don’t know who could become great connections for you or how long you can work with someone and not know them—until you really talk with them. I seek them out and inevitably our conversation brings new knowledge, makes me realize I’m not alone with my feelings, and helps me think about the Why of what I’m doing. The bonus: I’ve expanded my network (discreetly) in case I want to move on. If all else fails, I watch Stephen Colbert for laughs.