5 Factors in Finding Passion in Your Career

Unlocking passion: Embracing experiences, values, and discomfort.

Reviewed by Tyler Woods

Key points

• Passion grows from gaining varied experiences over time.
• Connecting your career with your values can provide purpose to your life.
• Stepping beyond your comfort zone helps you discover enjoyable activities.

As they contemplate their life journeys, many of my teenage patients are seeking to find a vocation about which they can be passionate. In this context, passion can be defined as an activity they love, brings them joy and inspiration, and promotes their emotional well-being. Often, they lament that they cannot find anything in which they are very interested.

I suggest to my patients that there are several factors they should consider as they embark on the journey to identify their vocation and passion.

1. Experience and Patience

We discuss that passion usually develops because of experience. I point out that teenagers and even young adults are just beginning to broaden their knowledge and range of activities. Therefore, I encourage them to remain patient with themselves and to push themselves to take on a broad range of academic classes as well as job and volunteer opportunities.

Also, it is important to engage in various hobbies such as sports, music, or building things, which can help you become more passionate. These could generate further ideas regarding vocations that should be of interest to you in the long term.

2. Values and Inspiration

Passions are often connected to your values and can help give meaning to your life. Thus, teenagers should recognize that as they develop their values and spirituality through life experiences, their passions will become more clearly defined.

Values can be developed through learning about your family and community beliefs, as well as by emulating inspiring role models. Reading books written by wise historical figures is yet another important source of inspiration.

3. Comfort Zone

Limiting our choices to endeavors within our comfort zones limits our ability to find our passions. Most growth in life occurs when we expand our horizons by challenging ourselves to undertake tasks that at first are unfamiliar to us and perhaps difficult to work through. By so doing, we greatly increase our odds of finding activities that bring us joy.

For instance, budding entrepreneurs may go through the difficult process of creating several businesses before identifying one that brings them the most joy.

4. Time

Passion can develop at different times of life. Thus, there is no reason to worry early in life about running out of time.

For instance, one of the rabbis at my synagogue realized that he was passionate about helping others in his late 20s and decided to attend rabbinical school. I found that I loved to counsel people when I turned 40 and became acquainted with hypnosis.

There are many examples of athletes who reached the professional level only to recognize shortly thereafter that their passions lay elsewhere, which led to early retirements from sports and shifts to other careers.

5. Multiple Careers

I remind my patients that the average person changes careers five times. Thus, it is fine and typical for them to start with a low-level job in the service industry (such as in hospitality or retail) to gain experience with responsibility and to learn about becoming financially independent. They are more likely to become passionate about a second or third job later in life as they gain a better understanding of their likes and dislikes.

Takeaway

Keys to finding one’s passion include patience, willingness to explore many new experiences, and engaging in activities that allow you to joyfully express your life values.