One of the hardest parts of the job search that many people are in the midst of right now is finding work that matches your skill set and/or passion. Now, there are obviously times when we just need to pay the bills and won’t necessarily have that option. In an ideal world, however, we would all probably agree that finding passion in your work leads to a greater quality of life.
If you’ve been in a situation that you don’t enjoy for a long time, or perhaps are simply young and fresh out of school, you may not even know or remember what your passion is. Here are 5 exercises that help you rediscover what you love doing and perhaps guide your career path.
1. Revisit Childhood
What did you love when you were a kid? What activities did you do for hours on end without even realizing it? Sometimes the most simple things – those that we’ve connected with since childhood – are where our real passion lies. Frank Lloyd Wright, for example played with wooden blocks. Research shows that becoming a kid again and just playing can help us discover our gifts.
2. Creativity Board
Make a large poster in your office with the words “New Business” or “Customer Service” or whatever you choose in the middle, and surround it with images/words of your choice. Now, what inspires you? Put it on the board! The thinking goes that if you surround yourself consistently with what you draw motivation from, you’ll be more apt to apply that motivation more productively than being sporadic about it.
3. List Your Mentors
Mentors in this sense does not simply have to mean people you have intentional mentoring relationships with. This can be any person who has the character or knowledge that you someday hope to have. Could be a person from history, could be someone famous, or it could be a family member. Study the people that you consider to be successful and learn from them. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, but you do want to make sure you aren’t simply being a copy cat. Learn from, don’t necessarily duplicate.
4. Do What You Love
Seems simple doesn’t it? Take some time and simply do what you enjoy doing. We’re giving you a free pass here! Don’t worry (yet) about a business plan or monetization. Start doing some things for free for other people to show them the value that you can give. Once people start seeing that value, you can get testimonials – and it snowballs from there. Don’t give up on something simply because you can’t afford to quit your day job (yet).
5. Take Mental Vacations
In the business world it is easy for us to get stuck in a rut of thinking. We needs way to step outside our box, however, and retake the creative spirit that made American business what it is today. Practically, this means simply taking time every day to let your mind relax and wander and not worry about work-related stuff. Maybe it’s reading a good book, or running or gardening – any number of things. Just find what works for you that gets you out of work mode.
What tips do you have to reignite your creativity and passion? What works the best for you? The worst? Chime in!
