Throw your mind back to your days at school; we were forever being championed to find our passion, to do what we love and reach for the stars. It seems somewhere along the way this message stops being repeated. For many of us, at some point the words of those around us become less about following your dreams and more geared towards landing a job that pays the bills. There’s a mentality out there that it’s normal and natural to give up on your dreams as you take on more responsibilities in life.
While of course it’s important to have a job that can support us, this idea that having a job that pays means sacrificing enjoyment has to go! It’s not about choosing one or the other, it’s about finding something that you LOVE doing that also pays the bills – or at least, that’s how I feel about it!
Bronnie Ware worked as a palliative carer and published The Top Five Regrets of the Dying in 2012, quoting the number one regret from her patients was that “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
The expectations of others can get in the way of what we want for OUR lives. Whether it’s our parents, our partner, or our friends, the ideas of those around us can begin penetrating our own minds. It can be difficult to distinguish where our true self ends and the idea of who we are to others begins.
Check in with yourself regularly to make sure you’re following the path that YOU want to be on. If you aren’t, something needs to change.
Today I wanted to talk a little bit about how to find your passion when you’re feeling a little stuck or lost, and why you absolutely should strive to do what you love in life.
Why it’s important to do what you love
We get one life. Regularly checking in with yourself to ensure that your working life compliments your personal values and fills your bucket in all the right ways is critical in ensuring you are doing what you love. Doing what we love also means that we act with love. Naturally, when we are personally happy and content, we tend to offer kindness, care and love to others rather effortlessly.
How to find your passion
Finding your passion is an individual journey. There’s no step-by-step guide that will apply perfectly to your life (as amazing as that would be!). That said, here are a few recommendations I have for figuring out what it is you want to do and pursuing it.
Make a plan
I don’t know about you, but I like to make plans! If you’re finding yourself in a job that you’re not passionate about, making a plan of how to leave and do something you do love can be a good first step. While it may be tempting to quit your job straight away and hope for the best, having a plan to transition out of your role and into something new may be a little less stressful. It also gives you a date for when one moment in time ends and new one begins. Having an end date and something to countdown towards can make a stressful or monotonous job seem a little easier to face.
There are many ways you could devise your plan. This plan could include brainstorming for what you would like to do instead, consider any educational goals you’ll need to meet to get the job of your dreams, chatting with your colleagues about side stepping or stepping up in your current work place, discuss upskilling and professional development opportunities and devising a timeline that you can work towards.
Push past your fears
One reason we may avoid pursuing our true passion is because we’re stopped by fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of trying something new and being judged for it. While it can be scary to step out of our comfort zone and try something we’ve never done before, it can often be scarier to remain somewhere we’re unhappy. Whether it’s a job, a relationship, or a city, if it’s making you sad and you can safely leave, I say leave. Life is far too short to spend it unhappy. Life is far too short to not spend it doing something that fulfills your soul. And you CAN find something that will fulfill your soul… even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.
Try things!
It’s one thing to know what you want to do and be afraid to take the leap, but it’s a whole other thing when you’re not quite sure what it is you want to be doing instead! One way to help yourself find a fulfilling job when you’re unsure of what you can do is to try many different things. Start with a hobby that you’ve always wanted to try, or do an unpaid internship in a creative field that you’re interested in. An internship can be a few hours a week, or longer (if you have the support to do so). Jump on opportunities when they arise, even if they scare you a little, even if they’re outside your comfort zone. I’ve often found that that’s where the magic happens.