What do you say when someone asks you, "what's your passion?" How do you know if an interest is a true passion with career merit or just a passing fancy? And why does it matter?
Sometimes a passion is just a little spark that tells you you're on the right track. Sometimes it's that thing that you can do for hours and suddenly time has just slipped right by. Passion can be a lot of things and it differs for every person. Most of the time we have a good idea of what our passions are and which of them could potentially turn into a career opportunity. For many though, a clear passion may not be evident when we're deciding to start a business, shift careers, change companies or just infuse new energy into a stale job.
When that's the case there are three exercises that can help you clarify what your passions are:
- Follow the books. Head to your local bookstore or library and spend some time perusing the subjects in the store take note of where you naturally gravitate. You will find those subjects that you are really drawn to are your passions. Maybe you tend to head over to the music section. Maybe you spend a lot of time looking at gardening books. Really start to look at your patterns and your behaviors in the bookstore or library and see what you start pick up what kinds of books you want to check out or purchase. When you get home, note if you are able to read all the way through the books and that you want to go even deeper to learn more about that subject or topic. That sustained level of interest is a really good indication of where your passion may lie.
- Look at different traits that you possess in the workplace and how a passion could amplify that.
- What possible opportunities are there to turn a passion into a paying job?
- Are there companies that support your passion who you could work for or with?
- Could you bring your passion into your current job by introducing a new group, cause or project?
- What industries do your passions fall into and what are the opportunities within them?
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Share your comments: How have you turned your personal passions into a career?