Does Passion really exist in your job?

Find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life. I do love this statement and wholeheartedly believe it to be true. BUT (and a big but) I also believe it puts pressure on ourselves to strive for that perfect job. That job that completely lights us up and ticks all of the boxes - twice. 

Is it out there? Possibly? Do you want to spend your entire working career trying to find it? 

I have begun to realize that living a purposeful life does not solely exist within your career or job. It can encompass a variety of things and we don’t need to put pressure on ourselves to seek that within our career. 

A recent article published by Business Harvard Review stated that a recent study found that young people rank achieving their career passion as their highest priority — above making money or getting married.

This hit a nerve for me. The pressure we put on ourselves to find our dream job which talks to our passion is extreme. Epidemic even. What struck me the most is that this came from teenagers who believe that finding their dream job is high on their priority list that it almost feels as if they are missing out on the lessons within the space of the messy middle. This may resonate so deeply with me because this was me. On the hunt, monthly (almost weekly) to find THAT job that comes from the heavens just for me. Scrolling seek more than I would scroll facebook. At that period, in my early career days, I was putting unnecessary pressure on myself to ‘succeed’ and be living my ‘dream’.

Now. Don’t get me wrong. I do believe this is achievable, I do believe without a doubt that this is a must for our wellbeing and I believe that this is something that we should strive for but lets just put on the breaks, take the pressure off and break it down into bite size pieces. 

I want to make note here that your passion (funnily enough) doesn’t actually have to come from your work, job or career - which is what the article goes on to talk about. I have also previously written a post titled ‘the secret to finding your passion’ which elaborates on your work versus your job and what that means. 

But today, I want to, as mentioned above, simply break it down into bite size pieces so you can take the overwhelm out of it and start to channel your focus. 

1. Know your strengths. I believe that if you work to at least 3 of your strengths, you are going to be satisfied in your workplace. This is because when things come naturally to you, you are more often than not good at it and if you are good at it, it will in return have a natural tendency (or build) towards confidence. When you are confident in your work, you tend to be engaged and therefore do well. All in all a win win. Now - where people get stuck is, you don’t necessarily have strengths in areas you are passionate about. I believe you generally have an interest but this isn’t always the case. For example: you may be naturally good at data analysis and numbers but you passion, what truly lights you up is when you help someone in need. Your passion and your strength become two different things. 

2. List your non-negotiables. Top 3 and that is all. What do you need to have in the workplace and more so, in the job that you do that will keep you satisfied, engaged and well simply, keen to go to work? Is it, indoor / outdoor activity? Is it working in a team? Is it for an organization that support sustainability? Is it having autonomy? Is it having a supportive manager? Is it flexibility? What are your non-negotiables. I find when working with my clients, this is something they have not actually considered. You win a job, your excited, you start the job, your happy, you find your rhythm and then you get frustrated. Why? It isnt meeting your non-negotiables. 

3. What is your WHY. For those of you who know me, you know I bang on about knowing your why frequently. You can read a whole blog post dedicated to it here. But the powerful-ness (is that even a word?) of understanding this is undoubtedly your driver. 100%. It will motivate you like nothing else. It will keep you on track and encourage you without you even realizing. How do I have a why for a job that is not my passion? Your why is to fund your passion. Or you create pathways for you to seek your passion. Or to understand what it is that you don’t want to do so you can find that it is that will actually light you up. I remember once, early in my marketing career, I think Iwas about 24 and I was asked for the first time to take minutes for a meeting for the CEO, COO and someone else (can’t quite remember).  A little out of my job description but his Executive Assistant and my manager was away so I guess I was the next best option. It ended up being a rather heated discussion about the direction of a part of the company (Not-for-profit may I add) and I was way out of my depth trying to scribble notes when the CEO turned to me and said. Claire, why do you work here - I’m sure you can imagine the level of my heart palpitations - I said, for the clients (the people who needed the organization) - from some greater force it was the absolute correct thing to say. And they directed their conversation purely to focus on them. It came around in a full circle where everyone agreed and ended the conversation with a purpose. Why? Because every single person in that room had a shared why. Your why doesn’t have to be shared or focused towards the organization you work for, that was just an example of how it impacted a conversation. You why is YOUR why. You may even have multiple whys to suit different situations. 

So there you have it. My 3 tips to taking it down a notch, breaking it up to bite size pieces to stepping towards a career that lights you up. My aim here is to really release that pressure we put on ourselves to finding our dream job that is purely passion fueled. 

I hope this provides you with helpful tactics and simple gave you permission to put the breaks on.

What are your thoughts on finding your passion within you career?