Passionate About Your Work?

As a young child, we have dreams of what we want to be when we grow up. As young adults, we begin to make more serious choices that affect our careers. Then as we progress a little further in years, we begin to take a look at where we are versus where we’d like to be, and we sometimes wonder how we got to where we are considering our earlier life plans. Oftentimes, we are not real sure what our true passions are in life until a bit later in our adult life, but by then, we are usually locked into a career and lifestyle that makes it harder to pursue our true passions.

This is not the story of everyone, but I dare say it is a loose representation of a vast majority of us. Are we really doing what we want to do in our career? Are we really on the track to where we want to be in, say, five years? Is our job fulfilling our passions, or is it just paying the bills? Are we loving what we’re doing, or wish we were doing something else?

Many people find themselves “stuck” in a career and wishing they were on another path. Making a change seems dangerous and quite a bit scary, since it usually means starting over. Many people feel that in order to change, it would require a quick and radical change in everything; just dropping where you are and jumping to a new track. Many people see where they desire to be, and instead of slowly working towards that, they want it now, and they feel the only way to get there is to jump right in full force and make the changes. Doing that, however, is too scary for most, and so they tend to not take any action, and never reach their desired goal.

Pursuing our passions – a career that really is something we could love doing – does not have to be an all or nothing giant plunge into a new life. If you make plans to make a gradual change, it may take you longer to get there, but when you reach your goal, it could end up being that radical change in your life and career that you have so greatly desired.

No real need to jump right in to the deep end of the pool. Start small, and walk down the stairs of the shallow end, and slowly wade in until you’ve made the change. Look at your career and skills you currently possess, and find a little first step using what you have, to connect with where you ultimately want to go.

Start small, and start now. Look at things, and determine what little changes you could do within the next week, to begin making the change. Set small goals, and take baby steps towards your ultimate passion, and stick to the plan.

Need more education, but can’t go to school full time? Check your local area for night schools that are only a night or two a week. Or, check for accredited online courses and begin with a class or two a week from the comfort of your own home.

Just remember, changes do not have to be sudden and drastic, and nothing you do is necessarily cast in stone – you can tinker and experiment until you find the path that is right for you at this time. Keep the long term goal in mind, but keep the main focus on each little step, and before long you will be where your passions truly lie.