The trouble with looking for your next big career move based on finding your passion
Do a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. A common catch cry. And a (mainly) unachievable goal for most of us. Much as we all want to feel fulfilled and excited to get out of bed and head to work. This is not always a reality, and you might just need to adjust your expectations of this. And at least get out of bed knowing your job is fulfilling its place in your life.
The reality is that the job market is designed to create profits and make money for business owners. The number of people who clean hotel rooms or pump concrete for passion is vanishingly small, but these are important roles for businesses. I go into how to find a job you love here.
In truth, the vast majority of jobs advertised will not necessarily appeal to your inner passion, but they may be just as fulfilling. Shifting your mindset away from working for your ‘passion’ to where your job can fulfill its role in your life. Creating space for your job to meet your needs, allowing you space to explore your interests outside of work.
A better way to think about the role of your work
It can be hard to let go of seeking your passion, to pursue something that truly makes you excited each morning. But it may just be leading you astray, putting so much weight into your job can lead to dissatisfaction and a lack of perspective. It may be better to think about the role of your work and the job you do through a little gentle introspection.
Take a moment, take stock of your job (existing or imagined), where does this sit with your life, at this moment? Working out what you want to do and what is driving you to do that is the trick. There are many reasons that we want a job. And many of these are not lofty or driven by seeking passion.
Creating Security - the ability to pay for your basic needs (housing, food, bills).
Building Wealth - to afford those luxuries in life and have more choice sometime in the future to ironically work less and play more.
Acquire, develop and utilise skills - a job may be a stepping stone to a different role, career or towards working for yourself.
Personal Development - knowing what you want to improve in and look to in the future.
Be a part of something and contribute to something bigger than yourself - many who choose to work for a non-profit or business that is looking to improve the world, community or environment find fulfillment in making a difference.
How do you want to spend your time?
When you take a moment to think about your skills, your abilities and line these up with your responsibilities (children, parents, mortgage) and the lifestyle you want to live, how do they look? Can the type of work you want to do or the hours you need line up with these?
Do you need shorter hours with less pressure to balance out other responsibilities or to allow you to pursue other interests? This might mean that the job you need now is different than what you were doing previously.
Can you see a path forward, a role you want that stretches your abilities, upskills you, and allows you to improve? Do you find fulfillment with the company you work for? The ability to stretch yourself and prove what you are capable of? If this is the case, you may be fulfilling the role of a passion with your work.
Where are you now?
Depending on where you are on the career ladder can also influence your choices. If you are new to the job market, you are likely to have far less pressure on your time or money. You have the space to explore your interests and try different roles to see where you fit. When you are older, this becomes less available. As we gather responsibilities or move into a more grounded career path. However, it doesn’t mean there isn’t room to take all of the skills and knowledge you have gained and invest them wisely. You could pivot, using your abilities to take a slightly different tack and possibly position yourself with a better outlook or different option.
And if you are older again, the time might come that your life perspective shifts, and lining up what you want from your work becomes a different list altogether. Your responsibilities have changed and you have more time. Take a look at my blog on making a career change in your 50s.
But what about my passion?
Work can fill many roles in your life, primarily to pay the bills and for your lifestyle. That doesn’t mean that spending time doing what you love has to stop. Instead, investing time outside of work hours can be highly rewarding. And in some ways investing your energy in something outside your work can help you in the long run. Spending time doing what brings us joy, learning, improving, and in flow helps our mindset. And as we age, it can help us transition into retirement (whatever that looks like, or when) more easily.
Recognising that work is important but it doesn’t need to be the only outlet for our energies can be freeing and allow you to live a work-life balance to suit you.
Knowing what role work fills in your life and what it allows you to do now and in the future is key to finding the right work-life balance. And may just give you the space to pursue what truly gives you joy in a way that provides stability and fulfillment.
I would love to hear how you’re finding your joy in your work-life balance. Reach out on LinkedIn.
If you would like more guidance on taking the next step on your career path, you can sign up for my newsletter – or book a consultation and we can work together to find where your next stop might be.
