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There is no one on Earth who doesn’t want to be happy. So, if we all want the same thing, why is it still so difficult to get?
Every single human was brought to this planet with some specific mission or assignment. We are all looking for it, and we call it a career. Some people get lucky and know from a young age what they are meant to do. But for most of us, it takes decades, and some people ask themselves that question before they die without fulfilling their purpose.
Do you remember when you were asked in school, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I know we all had an answer ready. But of course, we grow up to find ourselves facing unexpected situations and either rethinking our answer or losing it altogether. Years go by, and we get so busy with life that we forget about our purpose.
But if you recently asked yourself the same question again: What do I want to be when I grow up?, not everything is lost. Your mission and your passion are still calling for you, and it is not too late to start looking for them.
I asked myself this question several times in my life. I had to support it with other questions to really dig deep. Surprisingly, it happened when I still had a steady job that I thought I liked. But there was still something waiting for me to discover.
When I wrote and wrote in my journal and found my passion and my Why, everything changed. I finally realized what I needed to do.
The reality is we spend about 90,000 hours of our lifespan working. We need to work because this is how we contribute to our community and the world. So now, if we spend so much time on something that we are not happy or passionate about, or even hate, does this poison our life? The answer is yes. It spreads just like a disease through your life and through your body. And then we keep on infecting the life around us.
So, if you don't get up daily with a burning desire to go to your work, stop right now and journal on the questions I am about to share with you.
Here are questions that you can use to discover your passion:
What do I love to do?
What am I good at?
What makes me feel alive?
What kind of impact do I want to have on the world?
What problems in the world do you care about most?
What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
What are my values?
What are you naturally curious about?
What are my skills and talents?
What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
If you knew you were dying, what would you want to be remembered for?
What gets you so excited that you forget to eat?
If money were no object, how would you fill your time?
What do you find fulfilling or important in life?
If you were the richest person on the planet, what would you be doing with your time?
We may mistakenly believe that our passion has to be in one specific type of job or career. But passion is liquid. It may transform and flow from one job to another.
So what is it that you like to do? Not what you are good at but what you genuinely enjoy even though you are not perfect at it and don’t know everything about it. Now in what career can you apply it the best and still be okay with everything else that comes with the job?
Talking to my photographer friend and how she came to her passion, it was interesting to hear that her passion accounts for only 10% of her entire work. The rest is what she is ready to put up with to enjoy that 10%.
Everyone has their own reason to be passionate about a certain profession. Let’s take the medical profession for example. One person could be in it because he or she likes to solve problems and use critical thinking, and the other one to serve people in some meaningful way. But they are both ready to put up with the rest of this career for that one driving element they love.
Food for thought: something that you are good at but don’t like doing is not your passion, but it definitely may be applied to those things that you have to deal with. And your hobby is not necessarily your passion but possibly your outlet.
Conclusion:
Finding one's passion and purpose in life and career is a common desire for all humans. While some people know their calling from a young age, many struggle to identify it throughout their lives. However, it is never too late to start looking for a mission and passion. Passion is fluid and can transform from one job to another. While one's passion may only account for a small percentage of their work, it is the driving element that makes it worthwhile.
P.S. This article was created from a part of my book: "I Know What You Need To Succeed."
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