Why passion matters at work (and how to find your own) - Women's Agenda

Why passion matters at work (and how to find your own)

Passion is often cited as the key to a successful and rewarding career. Career coach Karen Bremner says when passion is the driving force behind your work it acts like “rocket fuel”. “When you work with someone who’s passionate about what they do, the difference is palpable,” she says. “Passionate people truly care about doing great work, and it shows — to everyone.”

Psychologist Dr Timothy Sharp says that people who follow a career passion are usually happier and more engaged in other parts of their life as well. But what if you can’t pin down exactly what it is you are passionate about?

Are you still waiting for that light bulb moment? Or perhaps you’re slogging it out in a joyless job, constantly searching for this seemingly elusive thing? If that sounds like you then consider this.

Stop searching

Passion may well escape those who search for it. “Like trying to chase happiness, it can be counter-productive, leaving you feeling like you’re missing out,” Karen Bremner explains. She believes that big life-changing passions usually grow from small sparks of interest. Stop the search for your big passion and start taking notice of the little sparks.

Stop waiting

There’s always a story behind someone’s life-changing career passion. An event, an experience, a meeting – something that ignites that first little spark of interest. You’re unlikely to notice the sparks when you are just going through the motions and waiting for something to happen.

Start doing

Despite having a successful career in corporate consulting Kristy Moore says she had a “nagging desire to do something that would make a bigger impact for other people”. She just wasn’t sure exactly what that something was.

She started volunteering with a charity. Leaving her dark corporate wear in the cupboard and slipping into a bright T-shirt, she’d forget about her high-end clients for a while and “brighten the lives of families that needed more smiles.” But it was when she took volunteering to the next level, an international level, that she discovered her true passion. “It was surprisingly challenging to find and organise, but I did it. It was eye opening.”

She now works as an Adventure Connector with Hand Up Australia. “I’m excited and proud to make it easier for Australian families, leaders and teams to get involved in the one thing that was a catalyst for positive change in my own life. Volunteer travel.”

Change your perspective

A fresh perspective often gives people an insight into their true passion. Enrol in a short course, take a holiday, talk to new people, read something new; there are endless ways, both big and small, to look at things from a new angle.

Bremner says it can also be helpful to ask yourself these questions:

  • What keeps drawing you?
  • What energises you?
  • Where do you lose track of the time?
  • When you’re 80 years old, what do you want to look back on?
  • What do you want your life to stand for?
  • What impact do you want to have?

Step back in time

Dr Sarah McKay has never had to ask herself these questions. “I’ve been passionate about science from a very young age,” she says. “There was never really any question, that’s where my heart lies.”

However, after obtaining a degree in neuroscience, a PhD from Oxford University and spending years undertaking postdoctoral research, she found herself frustrated with the slow pace of research and life in the laboratory. Although she was working in the field she was passionate about, she wasn’t completely enjoying her work. But, describing her passion for science as her “north star”, it eventually led her to her dream job.

She said goodbye to the laboratory, found a job as a science writer and now runs her own business as a medical writer and blogger. She loves covering a broad range of science topics and says she can now see she was always interested in this particular area, science communications. She remembers her favourite book as a child being the family’s first aid manual and, later, becoming a fan of New Scientist magazine.

A little passion for everyone

The realities of life mean that we can’t always discover our passion and, even when we do, we sometimes aren’t in a position to follow our passion and transform our career. However, it’s not all bad news. “More often than not, passion comes not from the job or tasks themselves but from how we approach those tasks,” Dr Tim Sharp says. “That means pretty much anyone in any job can enjoy what they’re doing if they approach it the right way.”

He offers the following advice for those who feel they need a little passion injected into their working life:

  • Be passionate about why you’re doing what you’re doing even if you can’t be passionate about what you’re actually doing.
  • Be grateful for all the positive aspects of your workplace and the work you do. It may help to remember that very few jobs or workplaces are perfect but almost all have positive aspects.
  • Spend time each and every day counting your blessings, listing at least three things that are going well.

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