Of late movies have been upholding the choice of making your passion your profession but choosing between a career that’s promising and stable vs. making one passion their profession isn't an easy choice between this or that. A passion that you daydream or dare to dream. Can your passion be your profession too? A passion does not always mean something adventurous or leisurely. It can be your professional pursuit that earns your livelihood.
The backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many of us to reconsider our career choice. The pandemic has given us ample time to think, rethink, and realize what to pursue - work that we are more passionate about. How do we go about doing that career choice? Does your workplace promote higher job performance, job satisfaction, and career earnings?
If you’re asking these questions yourself, consider that there are two sides to the coin and combining your work and your passion, like all the choices that you make every day. I often remind myself that life is just 10% of what happens to me, & 90% is how I react to it.
For example, a passion for nature and the outdoors may make you inclined to travel on weekends, but you’d likely have to move somewhere remote, where it’s more difficult to have a social life, are you up for it? You might be passionate about the news and your favorite news anchor would have inspired you. You might consider pursuing a news reporter job, or you might end up working long and non-traditional hours. Are you ready for it?
You might consider transforming your passion for cooking into a profession and you might start running your own restaurant, but what about riding the rollercoaster of worrying about its commercial success and finance required to get started?
Well, passion is an important factor to consider when choosing a job, but it should not be the only factor to make your career. Instead of asking “How can I find a job that I’m passionate about?” try asking “How can my career be a conduit to passion?” This way it frees you up to weigh the pros and cons of pursuing your career choice.
Question yourself like this:
Which company/industry will allow me to pursue my passion? Is there a constraint of these industries or conflict with my other goals — like your desire to study further, continue your sport, have a family, spend time on your hobbies, job satisfaction, or choice of where you are today and where you want to go ahead? Remember "What Got You Here Won't Get You There". You have to make way for it and make your actions count.
You can also ask: Should I pursue my passion through my work or continue this passion outside of work? Would my work be equally fulfilling?
What you do from 9 to 5 can help you build healthy boundaries between your personal and professional life. You might quit the 9 to 5 job to make your passion thrive but are you now ready to work round the clock? I've known close friends of mine turn down the conventional job option and be an artist - a self-made superstar. An accidental job role of a photographer to be a professional photographer now. A cyclist who runs a podcast show that inspires many. Take my own example. I quit my conventional teaching job to be the master of my mind and make my thought work wonders.
I started a waste management company with my friends, I was the Director of the Company a Co-founder of a Social Enterprise, and an Active Partner in a Partnership Firm all at the age of 24, and was nowhere by 27. I'm sure you will find many like me or my friends in your own company, buy some time from them and listen to their stories. There is little research that suggests that transforming hobbies into work could undermine the joy you derive from it as your interest and pursuit of external rewards like a monetary benefit.
After all the running around I now intend to keep my ongoing passion for travel, photography, and cycle expedition on the weekend or long holidays. I stay where I get enough time and scope to balance my profession and passion. Before I leave this note here, I recollect reading this in the morning "Work is an activity - it doesn't have to define your identity". A Healthy sense of self is rooted in character, not a career choice.
Do you have a Plan of action for your Passion? Comment below.