Why Your Passion is Not Enough When Changing Your Career
In many of my previous articles I have written that in terms of identifying your ideal career, the area that holds your interest and passion is the first one to look at. While this is definitely true, looking for your dream career while following your passion only is not enough.
We live in the age of many reality shows, so I am sure you are familiar with at least a few of them. When you watch some of the participants (mainly taking part in singing or dancing competitions), their passion is so palpable, you want to hug them through your TV screen. And yet, most of them do not succeed. The reason for that is simple. While they might have the passion, they lack the talent.
You can apply this example to your own situation. You might have a great passion for a specific occupation but if you lack a gift for that particular area, it might be very difficult to succeed. I am not saying it is not possible but in all likelihood your efforts will deliver average results and (this is my own personal opinion) if you are taking this huge step towards changing your career, surely your intention is to excel?!
In order to excel, let´s look at the other part of the “successful career change” equation. What are you passionate about and really good at? If you look at it from this perspective, I am sure you will be able to come up with some great ideas! All of us are really good at something, be it a fantastic cupcake maker, a brilliant wine expert or an inventive home decorator.
The combination of your passion and your abilities is the best basis for identifying and consequently changing your career. Be open to any ideas and possibilities and remain open minded throughout the process. (By the way, did you hear about the teenage boy who had made millions online selling ebooks about skateboarding? He was passionate about skateboarding, could not find any good textbooks on the subject, so decided to write one himself. Who would have ever thought that this topic would be such a huge success?)
Once you have identified your strengths, start developing these even further; turn them into your “superpowers”, if you will. If you are good at writing, take yet another course and improve your skill (plus many of the writing courses these days teach you how to sell your work too). There are evening classes available on so many different subjects. Online information is basically at your fingertips, so develop a sound and solid plan to:
1.) Identify your strengths
2.) Improve them and turn them into your “superpowers”
3.) Infuse them with your passion for the subject / area of interest and off you go.
Congratulations.You have just become unstoppable.
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How to Keep Yourself Motivated When Changing Your Career
First of all, let me say that if you are changing your career because you want to do something better, more satisfying, more rewarding, more “you”, then the issue of self-motivation should really not exist. If, on the other hand, you are at the point of changing your career but you don´t know which direction to go in, then motivation (or the lack of it) could be a good indicator of whether you are on the right track or not.
If you wake up every morning and can´t wait to take another step towards getting that dream career of yours, you know that you are looking for something worthy, fun and exciting.
But if you find the prospect of looking for a new job, daunting, scary or downright depressing, you have clearly not done your homework to identify what it is that you really, really want to do. In this case, I would recommend going through a thorough process of identifying your ideal career (using coaching or any other tool that you have at your disposal).
In reality, no matter which group you belong to, finding the right job might take longer than anticipated and in order to stay positive and upbeat throughout the process I would like to share a few tips with you on keeping your motivation up.
1.) Surround yourself with people who share the same interests and passions, to keep your enthusiasm alive. I had a client who wanted to be a middle-aged fashion model (yes, it is possible!) and the agencies she contacted just could not make up their minds. In the meantime, my client kept going to fashion shows, followed the fashion trends, kept herself fit and beautiful and continued taking new and different pictures until such a time that one agency finally agreed to take her on! The “in-between” activities didn´t cost much but it kept her focused on what it was she really wanted.
2.) Think about projects you will do when one day this job/business comes through. If it is the right direction for you, new ideas will come easily and when you speak to your potential employers, you will blow them away with how prepared and well suited you are for the particular job.
3.) Use the time between the jobs doing things you have always wanted to do but never had time for: play that very famous golf course you always wanted to try, learn a new skill, join an evening class, or sign up to a mastermind group. Spend your time doing things that make you happy and relaxed. That positive state of mind will translate into other areas of life, changing your career being one of them.
And remember that the best motivation is the knowledge that there are many people out there who have their dream career – and so will you.
Copyright: 2011 LB Coaching
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