No one likes to be told what to do every day. But, unfortunately, this is often the case in our life.
It starts at school, where we need to follow a program. And it continues at work.
That makes finding our passion more difficult. We just don’t get enough time to search and follow what we are passionate about.
The first habit offered by Mr. Covey in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is to be proactive, to take personal responsibility.
How to discover and pursue new passions in this environment?
I believe that everything is a matter of perspective. Let’s take two examples.
Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash
1.”I don’t like my sales job.”
At first glance, you feel not super interested. But what is Sales?
It’s a mix of negotiation, human relations, listening capabilities, clarity of presentation, project management, creativity, responsibility, productivity…
And you can take any of the topics above and divide it into sub-skills. You can do that with any other job. So, I don’t believe you don’t like Sales. You might not like part of it.
And here is the point. Identify all the sub-skills, recognize the ones you like the most and focus on them. By doing so, you take back control. You don’t just do what you’re told. You use your creativity and follow your interest. You learn, develop and grow. And you feel better.
2.”I don’t like to do sports.”
Usually when we say that we are looking to improve our health. Or maybe a doctor told us (again being told) to start moving.
Good health is often linked to how we breathe, how we eat, how we move. For each point, you have many sub-themes. Everyone can find some interest in some of those sub-parts. Going for a walk with your dog while listening to your best podcast might work for you.
When we do only what we are told to do, we feel bad. When we follow our interests and use our creativity we feel good.
Do you start to see the pattern?
When you know you have to do (we all know what we need to do), or when you’re being asked to do something (and we have to do it), follow these steps (or create your own 😉 ):
- Learn to identify the sub-skills.
- Find the ones you’re interested in.
- Act primarily on them. Starting here will help you to continue also doing the things you like less.
- Try to become 1% better every day.
Find your passion. Giving up everything to follow your interests might be scary, but doing things without interest is a chore that kills your motivation every day.
Finding interest in some sub-skills can bring back a new level of energy. Becoming better at them might create your new niche. Build from the bottom up, you’ll feel confident to jump and start your new passion.
Related articles :
- How do you start doing the things you want to do?
- How to build your life plan?
- How to build your innovation muscle?
- Why sales is a great job and a potential career accelerator?
- What I’ve learned on happiness and success from Scott Adams in his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life.
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