“Doing what you love is a fight. It’s an ongoing battle against every influence that wants you to conform. There is no solace in the conformity, only a blurred view of what you set out to be. Spend your life creating something. Betray the institution.”
Brandon Rike
Over the years I have done a lot of work that I’ve had to do to raise a large family. Work that didn’t ignite my passion, didn’t inspire my creativity, and didn’t allow me the freedom my spirit craves.
One of the keys to inner peace and happiness — as well as productivity and effectiveness at work — is finding work you love, that you’re passionate about. Finding work you want to do, instead of just have to do.
Finding that type of work can be difficult. It can feel like a daily ongoing battle as the above quote states.
It’s hard for most people to find that work because they don’t know where to start.
It will take some effort, but it isn’t hopeless.
- You will have to actively seek it – Doing the same thing day after day and expecting different results is what some call the definition of insanity. Yet, we stay at the same job, complaining about the same things, day after day, week after week, year after year. Work you love probably isn’t going to fall into your lap. You are going to have to look for it. You can do this by volunteering, taking on a part-time job in something that looks fun, or starting your own side-hustle.
- Don’t stop – You will have to keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle either. If it doesn’t excite you, ignite your passion and creativity – Keep looking.
- Explore lots of options – Try new hobbies. Talk to new people. Read articles on different blogs, in different magazines and books. Inspiration might come from someplace you never imagined.
- Once you find it, pour yourself into it – When you find the work you love, realize you’ve been given a gift. Don’t spoil it — truly pour yourself into that work. Learn all you can about it. Become the best at it that you can. Be careful though that it doesn’t cause you to ignore the other loves in your life, including family and friends, but when you’re working, you should devote yourself completely to that work.
So, how do you go about finding work you love to do?
- Get out of your daily routine – Ask yourself if you love what you’re doing. And if you don’t, then what is it you really love? And if not why keep doing it? If you don’t know, then what is keeping you from going to look for it?
- Take time to think – It’s good to take some time to really think about those questions. It may be an hour or two a couple of times a week. Or, if you can, make time for a get-away to be alone for a couple of days. It’s worth the investment. Really think about what you love, about your life, about what you want to be doing.
- What are some things you are doing that you already love – Do you have hobbies that fire you up? What do you read about? What do you watch? What do you talk to others about that excites you? Is there something you wanted to do when you were younger that you have since put aside?
- What are you good at – What are your strengths? Note: just because your good at something doesn’t mean that you enjoy it, or that you are supposed to be doing it. With that being said, do you have any talents? Is there something you’ve always excelled at? Pursue these things to find out if they will be something you love.
- Take action – If you don’t actually do anything, you’ll never find it. Start doing research, get a book, write out a list of ideas, buy an online class, start making calls, make appointments, take career assessment tests. Take action, now. What’s one thing you can do right now to start pursuing your dream? Go do it.
- Then take action again – Now that you’ve learned about it, give it a try! You might be able to pursue it within your current job, or do it as a side job or just as a hobby at first. Write to people who are doing it to find out how they got started. Check out a few books on the library and do some research online to find out about the first steps you need to take — and then take them! Pursue your dreams!