Chasing Success? Find Your Compass in Your Passion

This week, there seemed to a theme to the conversations I was having and that theme was “I’m lost”. It seems that everyone was in the pursuit of success but had no idea what that meant them or what it would mean for them. There is more to success then just wanting it. You have to be able to define what success means to you so that you can know when you actually reach it. You also need to know what attaining success will mean for you because that is what will motivate you to keep reaching for it even when you feel that you’ve reached the last rung of your ladder and there seems to be a great distance left to go.

As children we generally receive cues from our environment that begin to formulate our ideas of success. Over time, these cues can become more vocal, such as parents telling us that we need to become doctors and lawyers. In adolescence, these thoughts tend to be guided more social and media pressure. The one thing that is usually present is the money factor. Parents want us to pursue careers based on financial motivation. Adolescents get attracted by certain careers based on the promise monetary potential. As we come into adulthood and develop our own passions, there are many things that we want to do that may not seem as the stream of financial wealth we’ve been conditioned to want. We put these passions aside and pursue the practical. It turns out that in many cases people who do this are denying themselves the opportunity to really have it all. There is nothing that says that your work cannot be a passion and source of financial gains.

Four of those discussions really stood out as having a common thread and that was the lack of a passion. Each individual wanted to achieve greatness at ‘something’ but had no idea what that something was, so for years now they had been going along different paths but never reaching a desirable destination. They all needed to want something enough that they would commit to getting there, but because they did not have that, many new options continued to come along and grasp their interest and change their course.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to easily uncover their true passion, and many of those who were fortunate enough to reach that step don’t always know how to make it work for them. When seeking success, these two are key components.

If you find yourself in a similar situations here are a few questions that may help you get started on thinking about your passion:

• When you were a child what types to games did you play? Toys that interested you?
• As an adolescent what did you spend your free time doing? Or wish you had more time to do? (No, sleeping, drinking and the likes don’t count)
• If money was no object would you be doing something from those two responses or something else?
• Of all your paid and volunteer positions which was your favorite?
• Is there anything that you enjoy so much you would do it for free? (Look to past volunteer activities for this one too)
• What activities could you do every day and still be excited about them?
• Are there days you are most excited about going to work? If so what are you doing during these days?
• What is your dream job? Or what do you daydream about?
• What types of things do you think of when you wake up in the morning? Or when can’t sleep at night?
• If you won the lottery tonight what would you spend your days doing?

Once you answer the questions above, answer the next ones within the context of each response (Example- Travel)

• What parts of this is it that excites you? (Seeing new places)
• What is it that you get from this activity? (Learn new things)
• What you contribute with this? (Write and share knowledge)

There are many assessments that you can completed to help you figure the careers that would be best suited for your personality. If you can access them it could be beneficial to give them a try, but one of the best predictors of your success in any field is your desire to be in that field. When you have a passion for what you do, it not only makes your job easier, it also makes you better at it. You are more committed and more invested. You are more interested and more attentive. These can all contribute to your success in pursuing your passion.

So if you are feeling loss or dissatisfied it just may be time to take a look inside and see where your passion lies.

I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
www.DrJudiC.com