How to Find Passion in Your Job

Photo by Kara Pecknold

Are you in a stage of loving your life so much that you would pay money to live it? If not? What can you do about it? A common question asked is, “I really want to feel that way, but I’m just not passionate about anything. How do I find passion?”

A friend of mine asked me that question a few weeks ago. He has a high paying job and what appears to lead a full and fulfilling life, complete with volunteering and interesting hobbies. But he felt that something was still missing. He was looking for his purpose and genuinely wanted to find his passion. “I like a lot of things, but I don’t have any passions. How can I find passion, Tina?” This is a great question, and one that got me pondering about the topic. This article specifically looks at finding passion in your job.

This is part two of my notes from Professor Srikumar Rao‘s google talk, along with my personal thoughts on the topic. You can find part one here: How to Make Profound and Lasting Change.

The Problem

Most of us make the mistake of assuming that our ideal job is out there somewhere, and we have to go out and find it. We tell ourselves that our lives will be great, just as soon as we find it. As a result, we end up defining our ideal job using a widely accepted, but arbitrary, set of parameters. How much the job pays, job title on your business card, type of person our boss is, size of our office, how much we get to travel. We say in our minds, once I can find that, then I can be passionate about my job. Chances are, that job probably doesn’t exist. Assuming that it did exist and we were put into that situation, within a few months, we will probably be back in the same state we are now. Unsatisfied.

The Secret to Passion

Passion do not exist in the job, it exists within us. Either we find it in us right where we are, or we will never find it. Only within us, can the passions of our soul shine through. The best place to start igniting that passion, is where you are, right now.

The beautiful thing is that if you ignite passion within you from where you are, the external world has a miraculous and magnificent way of rearranging itself to suit the new person you are becoming.

The Unhappiness Spiral

Every time we are unhappy with what we are doing, or we feel frustrated, angry or disappointed, two things are always true:

1. We are concentrating exclusively on the two or three things that are wrong with the job. We ignore the 30 or 40 things that are pretty good about it.
2. We are living completely in a Me Centered Universe. We tell ourselves, “Oh, poor me. Poor me. How unfair this situation is.” We start to view our lives as if everything existed as to make things more difficult for us. We focus entirely on how the world affects us. It is impossible to live a truly fulfilled life if we are living exclusively in a Me Centered Universe.

Exercise: How to Find Passion in Your Job

We all have the innate power to transform ourselves and our life situations for the better. Most of the time, it is as simple as a shift in our perspective. The following is an exercise to help us get out of that space consumed with negativity about our present situation. The exercise is tailored to finding passion in your job, but it really applies to every area of life.

1. Take a notebook with you at all times.
2. Systematically noting down things that are pretty darn good about your job. Things you enjoy. Things you are grateful for. Co-workers you like.
3. Take one thing from this list that is important to you and significant to the company. Come up with a simple one month project where you will be increasing that component in your daily life. Example, if you work with a few pleasant customers, then the project could be: how to get more customers like that? Or, how to get our current customers to be like that? Or, how to get more work with those pleasant customers?
4. Do something every day to help you accomplish your projects goal. It’s best to do this in the morning as a priority item, but anytime during the day will give you a boost.
5. Evaluate your progress at the end of the month. Give yourself more time if you need.

Through actively practicing the exercise above, you will discover that there is an enormous amount that is great about your job and your present situation. The act of noting down the things you like, will take you to a different space. If you continue with points 3-5 consistently, by the end of the year, you will have completed as many as 6 projects that are important to you and are significant to the company.

This exercise forces you change what you focus on, which changes your perspective and outlook. You will find that you are no longer in the job you dreaded, your entire professional life has changed and your ideal job has grown around you. Recognize that you were the creator of that ideal job and the creator for this positive space you are currently living in.