‘Do what you’re passionate about’ is perhaps one of the most common pieces of advice people give when it comes to studies and careers, but what if you have no idea what you’re truly interested in?
For those of you who are studying or working in fields that generally guarantee financial stability, finding the ‘ultimate’ passion may sound farfetched, perhaps because the interests you wish to pursue may not provide a good income, or maybe the effort in doing the discovery is time-consuming.
Still, doing something that involves tasks, skills or subject matters that interest you will make your studies or career a lot more enjoyable.
If you want to search for your passion, but aren’t sure where to begin, here are a few tips to guide you through:
Find time for yourself
Your first step in finding your passion is to take a step back and reflect on any clues that you otherwise wouldn’t notice when you’re too preoccupied with your routine.
Breaking away from your daily grind for new experiences can also be a good opportunity to gain or enhance essential life skills, such as creative thinking, decision-making, and resilience.
Build self-awareness
Having time for yourself allows you to do some self-assessment, which means becoming more aware of your interests.
You can do so by recalling childhood or current hobbies that you feel you should take more seriously, listing down tasks you like and dislike, or simply asking yourself whether there are any activities you’ve seen or done that actually fire you up.
Another way of building self-awareness is taking an interest assessment, particularly the comprehensive kind where your assessment results can provide you a list of career options that match your interests.
Meet people with the passion
If there are several fields you want to explore, consider speaking to those who are already working in those areas.
Aside from networking possibilities, meeting experienced individuals allows you to have a better understanding of these fields, be it their day-to-day activities, prerequisites of entering the industry, or expectations of the job.
If the opportunity arises, gain some experience in that particular field before fully committing to it, and if you’re a student you could do this by working part-time or doing an internship or apprenticeship.
Keep trying
Above all, until you’ve found your passion, keep experimenting with various kinds of activities, even if it means getting out of your comfort zone.
The more successes you gain from certain accomplishments, the greater your chances of narrowing down your selection of interests.
Most importantly, don’t rush when searching for your passion, because your journey in finding it is a greater learning experience than your destination.
This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
This article first appeared on The Borneo Post, visit this link: http://bit.ly/2E3W91J
