5 Ways to Align Your Career With Your Life Purpose
By Shelby Ballou
We all have to work to pay the bills. That’s just a fact of life. We go to college so we can become educated in a certain field, and eventually, we try to obtain a job in that field. But it’s common to hear people say, “If you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.” How do we achieve that point in our careers? How do we align our careers with our life purpose? How do we obtain a position that we love, a job that gives our lives purpose and substance? It’s challenging, yes, but it’s not impossible.
Do you have a passion or interest that makes your life meaningful, but you’re not sure how to incorporate it into your career? Here are six ways you can align your career with your life purpose.
- Figure out your passion. Determine early in life whether your passion is your true calling or just a hobby you enjoy. If you love traveling, decide whether you want to incorporate frequent traveling into your career, or simply travel to a new place for pleasure every few months. You might find that business travel is extremely stressful to you, and you prefer to travel with family and friends. On the flip side, you might find that you’re thrilled by the prospect of constantly being on the go and traveling with coworkers.
- Don’t worry about your job title and pay. When you’re passionate about what you do, you’ll probably succeed — Because you’re doing what you love. It sounds cliche, but it’s true! When you genuinely enjoy your career, you naturally work harder and put more effort into your projects. Because of this, it’s a waste of time to worry about your job title and compensation. Success will eventually come if you’re working hard towards your dream or passion.
- Take calculated risks. Taking risks is scary, but that’s what life is all about. Mistakes may happen, yes, but you’ll learn from them. Don’t worry about the, “What if?” Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and see where it goes.
- Keep an open mind. Criticism is hard to hear, but you have to learn to accept and welcome feedback, even if it’s negative. Practice being open-minded, receiving advice and suggestions people give you, and using those words to shape your next step. Being open-minded will expand your thoughts to a world of possibilities you might have never before considered.
- See the world with the eyes of a child. Children have a unique and innocent way of looking at the world. Yes, they are naive. This isn’t a bag thing, though. It’s actually one of the most special gifts of life. By observing how a child sees the world and deals with people, you can learn how to be more forgiving, loving, nurturing, and observant. When you ask children what they want to be when they grow up, their responses are so pure and honest. There’s no hesitation or doubt. Think about that, and try to adopt their mindset.
[Original post here.]
