Find your passion. We’ve heard it many times. What does it really mean? Your passion comes from experience. You have to engage in an activity in order to develop an attachment. The connection is in the doing and the action. Passion evolves as you develop more skill and experience. Most times we enjoy work that we’re good at because that’s human nature.
In a recent presentation designed to help participants with their next steps after completing a year-long non-profit program, I compiled multiple questions for the group. Their options included furthering their education, pursuing full-time employment or continuing in the program for another year. My goal was to generate various questions that resonated with them. I made it clear that there would be more questions than answers for some at this point and they would have to do the work. Doing the work means being thoughtful, introspective, and focusing on your own self-awareness.
I decided to share the questions here on the blog because I thought they might be helpful to you as well. The questions noted below are not all-inclusive and should be considered along with other sources to help you dig deep. Some of the questions are very common and were created from a career development viewpoint. The challenging part is generating the answers for yourself. There’s no magic here. It all comes from inside of you. Grab yourself a notebook and write. Writing it out is a form of a brain dump that helps you to get it out of your head.
SELF AWARENESS…
Who Are You?
What’s working well in your life?
What isn’t working well in your life?
What energizes you?
What excites you?
What are your strengths? (top 3)
When you think about work, how do you want to feel?
YOUR INTERESTS AND ABILITIES…
What work comes easy to you?
What themes reoccur for you?
What do others compliment you on?
What problem do you solve?
How do you work best?
What do people thank you for?
What do people ask you for help with?
Whom would your work serve?
As you ask yourself these questions, explore the difference between a passion and a hobby. A hobby is usually something fun that may or may not pay the bills. Some hobbies are just that, a hobby or creative outlet. Anything is possible but I encourage you to create a plan if you aspire to make your hobby your career.
Spend some time evaluating all of your responses to the questions. Do you see any reoccurring themes? What moves you?
My journey into entrepreneurship has evolved out of my passion to support, encourage and serve people in the areas of diversity and inclusion, and career development. Think about how your passion can contribute to society, earn a living and ultimately transform into a job or career.
How would you describe your passion? If you need guidance, schedule a complimentary call with me to learn more about my services bit.ly/complimentarycallDrMJ.