Posted by For the longest time, we’ve been told that: “Do what you love and you never have to work a day in your life”.
What if I tell you that a career doesn’t always work that way?
In his iconic speech at 2005’s Stanford commencement day, Steve Jobs shared the single thing that kept him going even after getting fired from his own company:
I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
It does make a lot of sense not to settle until you find your passion and turn it into a career. However, what we missed out from the speech was the fact that Steve Jobs’ initial passion was neither technology nor entrepreneurship but to make money, and it was through Apple that he could fulfil that desire. There’s no doubt that he was deeply passionate about making a difference with Apple eventually. So it’s not completely true that passion should come first when searching for the job that can make you love Mondays.
Don’t buy into the idea of doing what you love, the secret to a satisfying career is to learn to love what you do.
The Difference
Most of us don’t have the privilege to choose what we want to do when there’s still a financial burden we need to carry. Which makes the find-what-you-love mantra impractical to some. However, it doesn’t mean that we should not take the effort to seek joy in what we’re doing right now.
The problem with today’s workplace culture is that we too often emphasize on individuality and forget to look at the big picture. This mindset has led us into thinking that we can never achieve success if we waste our time to only work for others, aka being a salaried employee. On the contrary, the key to loving what you do is to focus on making other people love what you do.
Don’t you love it when your work makes a difference in someone else’s life? Think of all the little things that you have done on the job, be it to make a customer satisfied, to help out a colleague, or as simple as to make your parents proud, aren’t they enough to put a smile on your face?
That’s the dawn of the journey in finding the passion that will fuel your career passion in the long run.
Know Your Purpose
In anything that you do, there must always be a purpose. As soon as you can find that purpose, you’ll be able to open many doors that were not even there in the beginning.
So ask yourself this question: “What could I do to make a difference that people would love to see?”
When you focus on the “recipients” of your work, you’ll have a better sense of purpose, which is the catalyst for a fulfilling career.
It’s normal to feel like you’re stuck in a rat race at times, but try to shift your focus on where your work is received. In other words, if you can see how much of an impact that you have on your customers, your teammates, or even your community, you’ll realize that loving your job doesn’t have much to do with yourself but more about others. Working for your passion is one thing, the higher form of success is to have a passion for your work, regardless of how big or small your position is.
But that’s not it.
Change is Fundamental
One of the reasons why you can’t seem to move forward in your career is because you don’t take the initiatives to change. Changes breed growth. Therefore, it’s critical to have a mind that is always in thirst for knowledge and a heart that is always hunger for challenges.
Understanding the difference you can make in this world is only the first step to creating a career that will fill you with passion. The next important thing is to equip yourself with the skills required to fulfil that mission, or even to yield better results as you mature in your job. Nothing motivates better than to reap the fruits of your labour!
Positive Relationships
Also, remember that you are not in this business race alone. There are people who can make your job a tad bit more enjoyable. By developing positive relationships with your colleagues and leaders, you will simultaneously improve the level of your career satisfaction. Sometimes, it’s who you work with that influence your passion in a more profound way.
Let’s have an open heart to “rekindle” your career passion and achieve greater success than just being able to do what you love.
Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at Jobstore!