Weary of Service in the community

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to share that after about 3 years of pretty strong service to a local sporting association, I am starting to get a little bored of what it entails.

This is a phenomenon I have seen in others, and myself — that when serving others, there is a period of novelty when you are learning new things and the service seems fresh and exciting. However, after repeated exposure, and experiencing most of what the service has to offer, people can become bored in their position and not perform with as much commitment as in the past.

Have any of you ever experienced, this, and how do you cope with the lack of motivation and boredom that inevitably sets in when you get really familiar with the work involved in a volunteer position?

SD

[Anonymous]

If it’s a true passion, the passion typically supersedes the boredom.

If it’s not a passion, I think it’s okay to simply move on.

[Anonymous]

I like to look for opportunities for co-missioning. For example, if you are volunteering for a local sporting association, it can certainly help if you have a child in the sport and your volunteering time can double as parenting/quality time.

Unfortunately, sometimes the opportunities for co-missioning dry up (your child ages out of the program perhaps) and you feel stuck because people now depend on you and you feel like it would let them down to step away. It can be difficult to extract oneself. In this, my wife and I try to give each other courage to step down or say “no” by reminding each other of the negative toll an overburdened parent can take on your family. By dedicating resources to other organizations, fewer resources are available for family. This can give one the courage to say “no” without feeling unduly selfish.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered that maybe you like the thrill of new things that challenge you – and when the challenge fades, so does your interest? (that you are a builder, not a maintainer)

If that is the case, moving on to something else might be exactly what you need. I would say just try to make sure the previous project has a good leader to replace you.

[Author]

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