Let Your Sense of Play Lead You

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There is a real shift in workplace dynamics happening lately. People are (rightly!) questioning whether they want to remain at their job, or if the “grass is greener” somewhere else. There is a lot of pressure for companies to keep quality employees, giving those employees greater power to negotiate how they work. And that is great; the world of work has been broken for so many people for so long now. Time for change.

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But – so much career advice centres around the idea of “following your passion”, like work is going to consist just of doing things you want to do. This is a mistake.

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The meaning of the word passion has evolved. In today’s age, most people interpret it as meaning an intense desire or enthusiasm for something. “Passion” derived from the Latin word “pati”, which means “to suffer” or “to endure”. You may notice that is not at all the same meaning as “doing what you love”, which is how we interpret the idea of “following your passion” today.

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If you want to know if you are doing work that is right for you, figure out what you are willing to suffer for. What are the things that you believe in so much that you will do them no matter what? That is the work that you should be doing.

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But what if you don’t know? How can you figure out which things you will suffer for?

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Follow your interests and curiosity. You don’t “discover” passion by searching for it. Instead, you put forth effort in learning and exploring things that interest you. You dive into topics you find interesting. Surround yourself with people who do things in that space. You contribute.

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If you spend enough time and energy making contributions on things that you find interesting, you will add value to the world. While enjoying how you spend your time. The contributions that you make will require hard work and sacrifice; not every aspect will be enjoyable. And that is okay. Because you will make the world better while pursuing your interests.

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And that is the stuff that a dream career is made of.

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Quotation that I have been pondering

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Do you often feel that you just don’t know what to do with your life? You know you want things to be different, but you aren’t sure exactly what needs to change? Many people feel this way. While it can help to talk to others, to seek advice and guidance, often the best approach is to go within. You have the answers already, if you would only be willing to sit and listen to your body. Cicero sums this idea up nicely with his quote that I have been considering lately:

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You are the one that knows yourself best. And you are the one that has your best interests at heart. So set aside a few minutes to be still, to explore your inner world, to listen to your body. And then use what you learn to move forward.

Journal Prompt

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So often, we procrastinate on things that are truly important to us. This is almost always a result of fear. It is significantly easier to keep your dream alive in your head than to go make progress on it. Because if you actually try to move forward, you might discover that your idea will fail.

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But the thing is, if you want something different in your life, you need to do things differently than you currently are. What got you here, won’t get you there.

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Once you have identified what you would do if you knew you couldn’t fail, reflect on what you might do to move towards it, with the idea of just exploring and learning.

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We made progress by taking many small steps forward, not by one giant leap. Decide on a step that you will consistently take, and make sure you keep moving forward.

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Have a great week!

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Tim

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