5 Steps to Finding Your Passion

You're stuck in a rut, work is just not as exciting as it used to be, and you've unleashed your inner zombie and are simply going through the motions between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. If this describes you, it might be time to reevaluate your career choices. Find a career path that you will reignite your passion with the help of the five steps below.

  1. Take a Look Back: Take a walk down memory lane to remember the things you loved doing as a kid. Forget about the practical and think about what activities made you happy. Drawing, writing, playing video games, playing with building blocks -- make a list and think about the activities you would still enjoy today. How can you turn these activities into a career?
  2. Create a Portfolio: Don't stick to just one passion-fueled career path. Create an entire portfolio of things you are passionate about, and let those guide you to job opportunities. If you single out just one, you might set yourself up for disaster.
  3. What Gets You Riled Up? Sometimes it is the parts of the world that keep you up at night that can be the best motivation for building a career. What are the things that really get you riled up? Is the local shelter not up to par? Does it make your blood boil to see people littering? Turn this into positive energy and do something that contributes to a solution.
  4. Give Yourself Think Time: Allocate some time to yourself each day to simply contemplate your life. Whether this is while you are cooking a meal, after the rest of your family has gone to sleep or while driving in your car, you need at least a bit of time each day to just think. This quiet alone time can help lead you to finding your passion.
  5. Work for Free: The true test of knowing how passionate you are about your career is seeing if you would do it for free. Is this something you love so much that money is no longer your first priority? Do a bit of volunteering in your free time to see how much you enjoy said career path. This also serves as a good test to see if this career path would work for you in practice, not just in theory.

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(Photo credit: Victor1558/Flickr)


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