How to Find Passion in Your Job
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Kara Pecknold
Are you in a stage of loving your life so much that you would pay money to live it? If not? What can you do about it? A common question asked is, “I really want to feel that way, but I’m just not passionate about anything. How do I find passion?”
A friend of mine asked me that question a few weeks ago. He has a high paying job and what appears to lead a full and fulfilling life, complete with volunteering and interesting hobbies. But he felt that something was still missing. He was looking for his purpose and genuinely wanted to find his passion. “I like a lot of things, but I don’t have any passions. How can I find passion, Tina?” This is a great question, and one that got me pondering about the topic. This article specifically looks at finding passion in your job.
This is part two of my notes from Professor Srikumar Rao‘s google talk, along with my personal thoughts on the topic. You can find part one here: How to Make Profound and Lasting Change.
The Problem
Most of us make the mistake of assuming that our ideal job is out there somewhere, and we have to go out and find it. We tell ourselves that our lives will be great, just as soon as we find it. As a result, we end up defining our ideal job using a widely accepted, but arbitrary, set of parameters. How much the job pays, job title on your business card, type of person our boss is, size of our office, how much we get to travel. We say in our minds, once I can find that, then I can be passionate about my job. Chances are, that job probably doesn’t exist. Assuming that it did exist and we were put into that situation, within a few months, we will probably be back in the same state we are now. Unsatisfied.
The Secret to Passion
Passion do not exist in the job, it exists within us. Either we find it in us right where we are, or we will never find it. Only within us, can the passions of our soul shine through. The best place to start igniting that passion, is where you are, right now.
The beautiful thing is that if you ignite passion within you from where you are, the external world has a miraculous and magnificent way of rearranging itself to suit the new person you are becoming.
The Unhappiness Spiral
Every time we are unhappy with what we are doing, or we feel frustrated, angry or disappointed, two things are always true:
- We are concentrating exclusively on the two or three things that are wrong with the job. We ignore the 30 or 40 things that are pretty good about it.
- We are living completely in a Me Centered Universe. We tell ourselves, “Oh, poor me. Poor me. How unfair this situation is.” We start to view our lives as if everything existed as to make things more difficult for us. We focus entirely on how the world affects us. It is impossible to live a truly fulfilled life if we are living exclusively in a Me Centered Universe.
Exercise: How to Find Passion in Your Job
We all have the innate power to transform ourselves and our life situations for the better. Most of the time, it is as simple as a shift in our perspective. The following is an exercise to help us get out of that space consumed with negativity about our present situation. The exercise is tailored to finding passion in your job, but it really applies to every area of life.
- Take a notebook with you at all times.
- Systematically noting down things that are pretty darn good about your job. Things you enjoy. Things you are grateful for. Co-workers you like.
- Take one thing from this list that is important to you and significant to the company. Come up with a simple one month project where you will be increasing that component in your daily life. Example, if you work with a few pleasant customers, then the project could be: how to get more customers like that? Or, how to get our current customers to be like that? Or, how to get more work with those pleasant customers?
- Do something every day to help you accomplish your projects goal. It’s best to do this in the morning as a priority item, but anytime during the day will give you a boost.
- Evaluate your progress at the end of the month. Give yourself more time if you need.
Through actively practicing the exercise above, you will discover that there is an enormous amount that is great about your job and your present situation. The act of noting down the things you like, will take you to a different space. If you continue with points 3-5 consistently, by the end of the year, you will have completed as many as 6 projects that are important to you and are significant to the company.
This exercise forces you change what you focus on, which changes your perspective and outlook. You will find that you are no longer in the job you dreaded, your entire professional life has changed and your ideal job has grown around you. Recognize that you were the creator of that ideal job and the creator for this positive space you are currently living in.
Parting Words
Sometimes, we spend so much of our free time thinking about how much we dislike our current situation that we forget that what we repeat in our heads becomes our reality. The more we repeat that story, the more we reinforce that story. As we reinforce the story, we identify with it and it changes your perspective. What we often do not realize is that these stories we tell ourselves are hurting us. One of the best gifts we can give ourselves is to recognize that we are not our stories, and to becoming aware of when our mind chatter starts telling these stories.
We are never as stuck as we think. We are never as ‘incompetent’ as we think. We are never as insecure as our minds have us believe. Practice being the observer to your mind, thoughts and stories.
What is one aspect of your job or life situation that you are unhappy about? What are some things (name several) you enjoy about your job or life situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. See you there!
Very Interesting. I recently wrote a mini-series on Finding Passion in Your Daily Life but even though work is part of daily life I hadn’t thought about work specifically.
This is a really good article on making your work days more enjoyable and it also makes you more valuable to the company. Happy employees are the best :D
Personally I work in software development, I like to make stuff. It also gives me the skills to work on my personal development blog which I’m also passionate about.
Tina –
I’ve been through this phase already. It’s true that passion doesn’t exist in a job where we trade time for money. It exists deep down in our heart. It excites us not only financially but spiritually as well. I’ve quit my job three years ago. I’m happier than ever despite all the challenges I face to shape my own destiny.
Shilpan
I’ve seen a funny comic on this topic:
http://eandmu.com/2008/03/28/more-to-life/
I get to work on the happy-client side of my workplace. If someone has a problem, they don’t go through me, which lets me focus on the positive. For me, that’s a huge benefit. It’s very draining work, though, and I’d love to have more energy for my home life at the end of the day.
On the subject of passion, I think the word itself scares off some people. These folks might think they need to be deliriously in love with their work each second of the day to be considered passionate. For me, passion and deep, lasting satisfaction are synonymous.
I like your perspective on this Tina. It does begin within ourselves.
I can especially resonate with your thought on pleasant customers. I have always found that you get what you expect from people, and customers are no exception.
My practice has been to expect the best from customers, to hold a metaphorical door open for them to feel better. They usually walk through it, because everyone wants to feel better. All you have to do is hold that door wide open. It makes all the difference to your experience at work.
Cheers,
John
I feel blessed every day to love and adore my job! But that has nothing to do with what I “do” every day. It’s more that at least 70% of my business allows me to express who I truly am. Okay, so the other 30% or so does consist of administrative tedium … but I am certainly not going to focus on that!
Whatever we focus on expands. Focus on the negative, and it’s all we see. If we focus on the joy and fulfillment our work brings us, that will expand, also.
Blessings,
Andrea
Tina, you really have a remarkable way of putting your words together. You could not have said it any better. We must first change our way of thinking before we can expect to change the realities of the world around us.
Wonderful read… ;-)
Recently I use ATTENTION to guide me through out the day. Interestingly, we actually paid ATTENTION on negative thing on unsatisfying thing and that reinforcing Negative Self-Dialog and emotion generated underneath.
Passion for me is from Within. If we do not know our purpose, we will continue to find the happiness from outside world.
Gratefully, I do not need to worry financially for past few months so I can spend time to find inner self. I realized we do not need passion just we already live in passion surrounding. You are part of passion. Just my 2 cents.
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You are so right. If we look, with conscious awareness, anything we do can become a passion and incredibly enjoyable. Even trivial tasks that we traditionally dread, like cleaning our kitchen, can become a joyful experience.
Tina
Are you in a stage of loving your life so much that you would pay money to live it? <—— YES!
Looking back, quitting my job 1 year back to become a full-time personal development blogger/internet marketer was the best decision I’ve ever made.
I’m loving every bit of my life now… ups and downs… no more bosses to report to… I can wake up naturally ( without any alarm clocks)… have complete freedom to do what I like when I like… without needing to take leave/off…
It does help that I’m doing what I’m passionate about now… writing… and sharing… and helping people along the way. =)
Very Interesting.
(Marc and Angel Hack Life) We must first change our way of thinking before we can expect to change the realities of the world around us. +1
I like what you said about passion; that it is not found externally but within us. Passion is what keeps you alive. You don’t consider what you do as work when you have the passion for it. Even when you fall on hard times, your passion is the thing that sustains you through it.
Yes passion is found within. Yet passion is stimulated by the possibilities in our work environment. The environment attached to working a job, employed by someone else, is usually lacking inspirational stimulation.
Near perfect work is possible but it is more often constructed and created from our passions. Self-employment pretty much solves this lack of passion issue. Passion responds to choice. Greater choice exits in the realm of the self-employed.
I enjoy working – being able to create something, make something meaningful with my time. I love the opportunities of growth it provides – sometimes through new assignments and projects and sometimes through tough managers and colleagues.
I enjoy being able to decide how much and what kind of responsibility do I want to take on. And in process, make way for creating a dream job for myself.
I think that Avani above has summarized what I enjoy about my job very well. Great comments! We are all responsible for choosing work that inspires us. Of course, I think it is important to approach all work situations with an open mind and the right attitude. You never know where your next big break will come from!
Very inspiring words Tina.. I’m having a hard time at work (call center agent), you can just imagine dealing with (angry) customers, and I’m also the type of a person who doesn’t talk a lot or let’s say doesn’t know how to carry a conversation.. I believe you in the “Me centered world”, because I realized that I am like that.. not only with work but on my personal life as well.. I am just starting my path towards improving my personal development.. and reading your writings really helped me a lot… thank you so much..
I think passion is definitely found within, but it is also found without to a certain extent as well. But it’s up to us to create the environment that will reinforce that passion. =)
This is an great supercharged positive article. It compels us to dig down deeper to find those moments that make our jobs feel truly worthwhile for those who do not see it or did not care to examine deeply their purpose of being a part of an organization.
I felt compelled to reply to this post because I’ve simply racked my brains in trying to make my job fun and interesting and perhaps find a bit of passion for it along the way.
I am working one of the biggest financial institutions in Canada, but the work is not challenging and there are hardly an opportunities to advance. It entails no client interaction and the social aspect of the workplace is non-existent.
I’m actually here to ask for advice when you’ve dug deep down and you’re still not able to find this elusive “passion”. I’ve been able to find it in running, public speaking, and improv, but just not my job.
After a long struggle in trying to make things fun (with many failures along the way) I’ve decided that my current job is a stepping stone towards the next phase in my career in becoming a professional.
What would any of you do if you were just another “cog in the machine” or were in a similar situation such as my own?
– Will
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Hi Will,
>What would any of you do if you were just another “cog in the machine” or were in a similar situation such as my own?
I would find something else to do and move on. ie. I would quit the job and either find another one or start a new business that aligns with my interests.
It’s a scary thing to think about, because so many of us are stuck in these jobs because of security and comfort. And our minds do not like change, so when we think about the possibilities of change, we’ll feel resistance from ourselves. The key is in ignoring the resistance, have a clear picture of exactly what it is we want, have faith that you will achieve it (you don’t need to know how you’re going to achieve it), and take action towards the end result.
Tina
@Will, Sometimes we have learnt everything at current level and hence moving forward to new experiences makes sense.
Some questions for you to think and get answers before making any decisions:
* What things are perfect about your current job? (Please don’t answer nothing. Sometimes we have to think hard to get answer to this one)
* How does your job need to be for you to be passionate about it? Answer this in specific points.
* What steps have you taken in that direction?
* What would it take from your end to make your current job your dream job?
The rest, you will do on your own. It will come in a flow. All the best.
Listen to Slipknot ‘People = Shit’ all day. Works for me.
That is all well and good when you are content, but there is very little good where I am. It’s tedious, does not allow my much freedom, is draining, and quite frankly can find very little good about it.
Doesn’t always work.
Sigh…more happiness is a state of mind dogma. While I am not disputing that positive thinking (and various disciplines that can help support that) can have a powerful impact on emotional well-being, there is also a measure of truth in the fact that we learn about ourselves through our experiences, and that experience can help us identify aspects of our life that are not well-aligned with our talents, passions and motivations. That experience creates the motivation for change (in relationships, jobs, geography, education level). There must always be some conflict between contentment and ambition or we would fail to grow as human beings and reach our full potential.
it may be that selling one’s time, creativity, and freedom for money is not the road to happiness. sadness and boredom are typically not errors, diseases or conditions – they are the mind’s way of telling us that we are making a mistake. it may be that our market-driven, product-oriented, cubicle-dwelling way of life is a mistake and that the solution does not lie in simply rearranging the furniture of our minds, but in creating a society that makes people happy without self-help books.