Find your passion. Follow your heart and you will live happily ever after. You’ve grown up with that dream… but now what?

For some people, just hearing the word passion conjures up a kind of “ick” feeling that I can understand. Let’s face it, passion isn’t something we associate with moderation or restraint. It’s not just about interests and things that catch your attention. No, no, passion is a fire burning inside you. It’s unstoppable. It’s visceral. It’s all-consuming.  You might not even be able to control it! Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? 

Or perhaps, kinda hot and uncomfortable.

Please pass the passion

And what if you have some moderate interests but you don’t have a passion? What then? You might feel like you’re not in the club. Or maybe you worry you won’t have a successful career since there’s so much talk about how important finding your passion is for a satisfying job/life. 

 ‘Finding your passion’ does sound appealing. After all, it’s enjoyable (and often easier) to do work you find interesting and rewarding. Sometimes this comes about as a result of a passion that can be connected to an occupational area. However, the reality is not everyone has a passion that’s transferrable to their career, even while you may enjoy your work or be successful in life. 

Passion paralysis

The encouragement to “not settle” and to “find your passion” seems like a wonderfully supportive sentiment. But it can sometimes manifest itself as huge pressure on you. Sometimes, it can end up stalling or paralyzing you from taking valid career steps out of fear that you’re not choosing the “right” thing.

Whether or not you can articulate a passion, instead of waiting for the “perfect” thing to float by, try active exploration. Attempting new things, developing and practicing skills, and gaining a variety of (paid or unpaid) experiences, will help you investigate your interests (or passion, if you have one). These experiences will also help you continue to develop your skills, opportunities, and new interests… which can sometimes lead to an as yet undiscovered passion!

Even if you can articulate a passion right now (and you’re not abnormal or alone if you can’t), it may not be the same passion that you have in ten or 20 years. Interests evolve and change, so there’s lots of time for you to figure this out. 

Passion is only part of the picture

I sometimes get fed up with the narrow “find your passion” quest because the reality for most people is that passion will be only one of many spokes on a career wheel. Other important ingredients are income, geographical location, and work-life balance, just to mention a few.

You may think it’s necessary to sacrifice passion for these other things, yet that might not be the case since. These other ingredients are also very key to your career happiness. There’s nothing like having dinner every night with your formerly long-distance sweetie to make you appreciate prioritizing or balancing location with passion.

Pack passion for lunch

We often talk about passion as something we get from work.  It feeds our soul or energizes us.  But what about passion as something we bring to work? No matter what work you do—whether it’s related to your passion or not—you can bring your passion to it. Perhaps your passion for baking doesn’t apply to your job as an office assistant, but your weekly brownie delivery to your colleagues allows you to indulge in your passion and share it with others.  You can use your passion to find more enjoyment in your work.

Passion in your pocket

I believe that if you have a passion, you’re already using it because a true passion is unavoidable. It’s oozing out your pores, it’s often unconscious, and you’re engaging in it all the time because it’s just so much a part of who you are. In which case, instead of suggesting that everyone find their passion or follow their bliss, how about this method for a while?

Stop looking for your passion. Stop seeking your bliss. 

Instead, do what you do—whatever that happens to be at the time—with all your heart and your passion. Do that and your “happily ever after” career will find you.

Christine Fader works as a career counsellor at Queen’s University and is the author of, Career Cupid: Your Guide to Landing and Loving Your Dream Job. Visit her website at: www.careercupid.com