We spend a large chunk of our lives working, which is why our career choices are so vital to our happiness. Who wants to spend 8+ hours a day doing something they loathe? To say you should choose a field you’re passionate about is an understatement -if you work fulltime your daily happiness highly depends on it. I meet a lot of people who are in career transitions who ultimately decided they had no passion for their initial career path. This is a common feeling and nothing to be ashamed of. Many people switch careers and go after their true passions at all stages in life -it’s never too late! Even if you’re not in a position to quit your current job, you can always pursue your passions as long term goals or even as a hobby. Whatever you do, don’t let your passions slip away. Always keep them alive because you never know when you might get an opportunity to pursue what you really love. Here are 5 ways to know what your true life calling is.
You Can Recall Excelling At It As A Child
This is one of the best indicators. Think back to your childhood before outside influences took over. What did you love to do? What were you naturally drawn to? As a child I just loved to write. I have stacks of journals, essays, and poems stored away at my parents house. Once I picked up a pencil as a young child, I never put it down. I was also naturally entrepreneurial. I was always having yard sales, building lemonade stands, and going door to door selling things. I liked to feel financially independent from an early age. These traits were naturally in me as a child, with no outside influences. If you’re struggling to find what you really want to do with your life, you don’t have to look much further than what you excelled at as a child.
You Would Do it For Free
If you had to struggle and do it for free on your way to success would you pursue it regardless? This is a great indicator, because if you’re not willing to struggle and pay your dues, you may be in the wrong career field.
It Almost Doesn’t Feel Like Work
Don’t get me wrong, when you’re pursuing your passion it takes hard work to succeed. You’ll have ups and downs like anyone else, but at the end of the day you couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Sometimes you’re so enthralled in your work, you don’t even realize it’s 10pm. Other days your work brings so much joy and fulfillment you think, “I can’t believe this is my job.”
You Grow As A Person
We don’t often look to our jobs for spiritual growth, but really, we should. Again, because we spend so many of our waking hours working, we should feel a true connection with our profession. We should feel challenged, motivated, inspired, excited, and joyful about our work. This doesn’t mean you won’t face adversity or have bad days occasionally, but overall you should feel motivated and positive about your career.
You Don’t Dread Monday
Hey, we all love a good 3 day weekend. Even when you love what you do, it’s healthy to want to step away and take a break to reset and rejuvenate. However, when you’re doing what you love, Monday (and every other day of the week) is just another day. You don’t refer to your job as “the grind” and don’t feel like Game of Thrones is your only savior on Sunday night. While it is normal to feel a little anxious on Sunday night in anticipation of everything you need to do for the upcoming week, you should still feel overall enthusiastic about your career.
And if you need a little kickstart and motivation to get started, here’s a couple articles you might like:
Get Out of a Rut: Effective Ways to Kickstart Motivation NOW
The Savvy Gal’s Guide to Organizing, Setting, and Achieving Goals
Optimize Your Life: 8 Common Beliefs That Are Holding You Back
