7 Tips for Finding Your Professional Passion

October 26, 2018

Some people seem to know what they want to do for a living from an early age. Others struggle to find the best fit.

You’ve probably heard that the way to find the career path that’s right for you is to “follow your passion.” Of course, it would be wonderful to find a job that you love. However, that’s often easier said than done.

What if you don’t know what your professional passions are? Thankfully, there are some ways to figure it out. Here are some things to think about:

1. When do you lose yourself?

When you’re busy doing something you love, it’s easy to lose track of time. So, ask yourself — when was the last time you got carried away by an activity? What kinds of things can you do happily, for hours and hours, day after day? What is it about these tasks, specifically, that you enjoy? Finding the answer to these questions can help you start to hone in on some of your passions.

Do You Know What You're Worth?

2. Where do you excel?

You don’t have to be good at something to be passionate about it. However, often when a task or idea really holds your interest, you end up spending time and effort learning about it. So, it’s worth thinking about your talents and areas of strength. It can help you learn more about what you really love to do.

3. Give yourself permission

It can be a little scary to allow yourself to learn more about what you’d really like to be doing for a living. So, it’s important to give yourself permission to explore the idea. Otherwise, you could block the inner guidance that’s trying to help you find your way. Don’t tell yourself that it’s silly to try to figure this out, or that you can’t really do what you love. Instead, allow yourself to be open to the possibility of more.

4. What do you think about?

When you’re really interested in something, you can’t stop thinking about it. So, ask yourself which hobbies, subjects, or concepts occupy your mind even when you should be doing something else. If you’re working your desk job and constantly thinking about the novel you’re reading or your golf game, pay attention. Perhaps you are interested enough in these things to integrate them into your professional life.

5. What doesn’t work?

You can learn an awful lot about what you do love to do from exploring what’s not working in your professional life. Allow yourself to identify these experiences. It will help you to know what you want to move away from. And that will help to illuminate what you might like to move toward.

6. Ask around

Sometimes, the people we love know us even a little better than we know ourselves. So, the folks that you love might know something about your interests that you’ve overlooked. Consider having a few conversations with the people you love the most about your quest. They might just offer some pretty interesting insights.

7. Trust your gut

At the end of the day, you probably know a little more, deep down, about what you’re interested in professionally than you’re always ready to admit. So, be honest with yourself about what you’d really like to do. Don’t let fear of failure or judgment from others deter you. Listen to your gut and trust your instincts a little more. That little voice that’s whispering to you about your dreams can’t wait for you to do so.