4 Ways to Connect Your Passion with Your Career
The word “passion” is defined as a “strong and barely controllable emotion.” Can you say that about the job you are currently in? The idea that you can barely contain your excitement and enjoyment from what you are doing every day? If you don’t have a passion for what you are doing, you will not feel fulfilled in your life. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of money – passion does not always equal “rich.” Finding a way to pursue your passion full-time, as a career, can mean the difference between living your life to the fullest vs. just living. But how do we connect the passion we have into a career? It starts inward and works its way outward. Here are 4 ways to connect your passion with your career. Interview Yourself Before you create any plans on joining your passion and your career, the first thing you must ask yourself is “What am I passionate about?” This means the answer should not be… What other people think is cool What other people think you should do What other people are doing It starts with who you are. What are your values? What gets you excited? What makes you feel fulfilled like you achieved something worthwhile? These are the questions that dig into the core of who you are and how you approach the world. If you value helping others and get excited watching others achieve their goals – then teaching or coaching may be the field for you. Knowing who you are by questioning who you are provides important information and acts as a compass directing you towards a career you are passionate about. Interview Others Now that you’ve got a foundation of information, the next thing is to compare your perspective with other people’s perspectives of you. The people you ask should be loved ones or close friends that you trust to give you honest answers. Ask them questions like… What do you feel I’m good at? What things do I get excited about? What do I like to talk about? The goal here is not to understand where you could improve. The goal is to understand how other people perceive you, which could spark an insight into your personality that you didn’t previously know about. These insights may cause you to think of a career or industry that you’ve never considered but maybe something you would thrive in. Figure Out What You’re Trying to Do The information you get from the above two steps gives you a great foundation on what you could do. The next step is to understand what you *should* do based on what you now know. Do you want to help a certain group of people (kids, adults, athletes, etc.)? Do you want to try and solve a problem (“Why hasn’t anybody ever tried _______?”) Your interviews (with yourself and others) will guide you on what type of problem you can solve [...]