Passion Important for Your Work

Social networking sites are filled with Monday Blues memes that aptly describe the feeling we have after spending a relaxing weekend at home. Besides this, we also love to share workplace jokes with our friends and family. And, of course, all of you have listened to the famous 9 to 5 song by Dolly Parton which highlights the woes of employees working from nine to five and barely getting by.

Even when you have landed on a dream job, you find yourself struggling to complete the mandatory nine hours at your workplace. All you daydream about is to take a long nap.
But why is it that so many people, even after getting a job in the field they studied for at least four years, end up miserable? Standing on the opposite side, there are people who not only love what they do but are also motivated to contribute toward the growth of the company they are working for.

It is fascinating to see the energy of such workers. What stands between these two different types of people is passion. Those who are passionate about what they do bring so much energy to the desk. For these individuals, their work, with all its deadlines and challenges, is actually a great experience.

Your passion is actually the drive that motivates you to do better at your workplace. If you are passionate about your job, you won’t spend a single second waiting for the clock to strike five so that you can call it a day.

Many people believe that pursuing the field that you love can make your work experience bearable. But your love for your field doesn’t mean that you’d have no work to do or no challenges to deal with. At times, you may find yourself knee-deep in work with no vacations in sight.

On the other hand, if you have passion for what you do, these challenges will not have any negative impact on your performance. You will continue to work to the best of your abilities no matter how close the deadline is or how difficult a project is.

Can all employees be passionate about what they do? Many employees, even those who are in senior management positions, struggle to discover their true calling. This doesn’t mean that all employees are a mismatch. When you apply for a position at an organization, it shows that you’re interested in taking up the responsibility that the job carries. What happens when you finally sign the job contract in the company you love? Why do you feel sad and miserable at your job? And why do you constantly think about either quitting or switching?

What Is Passion?

What is that one thing you’d love to do regardless of how difficult it is? What is that one thing you’d do for days without complaints? The reason behind your low morale at the workplace can be your lack of passion for your job. But what is passion and how can you identify yours? Passion is the force that drives you to become a better version of yourself. It’s the force that creates ‘I can’ attitude in you and motivate you to overcome all hurdles on your path to success.

Many people worry that they haven’t thought about their passion. They don’t know whether the decision to take the job that they currently have was motivated by societal pressure. Or that they actually love doing what they do.

Finding your passion is a time-consuming process. It is a journey in itself, and you have to take your time and actually make an effort to realize what the one thing is that motivates you to even cross mountains and the seas for the cause.
Let’s understand the concept of passion through the help of an example to which most of us can relate. If you are a movie lover and there is one series that you absolutely adore, you get all excited when the creators announce the launch of the next movie in the series. Now come what may, you make sure that you get the tickets for the first show. It doesn’t matter whether you have to remain in the line for an hour or you have to skip lunch to buy the ticket.
When it comes to working, you have to choose the field of work that drives you in the same manner as the idea of watching the movie on the first day does. Usually, the entire process of choosing a field to study or finding a good job is quite mechanical. Throughout history, we have seen the people following in the footsteps of their parents and doing what their parents did. A doctor’s child is most likely to become a doctor. This pattern is understandable since our decisions are largely influenced by the environment we are exposed to. Sometimes, we find ourselves blend into the external environment to such an extent that we don’t consider finding out where our passion lies.

On top of this, there are people who argue that there is no such thing as ‘true calling’ and that ideas about passion are a dangerous fiction. Many student advisors have also expressed that they have had meetings with numerous agonized students who found themselves worried that they haven’t found their passion yet.

This is all very concerning. But these arguments do not have a strong backing. There are some misconceptions that must be addressed so that people can have a better understanding of what exactly passion means. We hear career coaches and motivational speakers convincing people to do what they love and they won’t have to work a single day.
This advice, at times, makes people inadvertently believe that they will not face any challenges in their field of work. And if they have a passion for something, they can find true happiness. But this isn’t what following your passion guarantees.

It is also important to understand that passion comes and go. A person may have a degree in law and they may be working at a top law firm, but, after a brief period, they may find themselves completely lost. Maybe the person was passionate about being a lawyer. But, with time, they get distracted and lose their focus. At this moment, they may be more interested in making money and the reason for which they became a lawyer in the first place loses its value. For such people, it is also important to refocus on their passion and make amendments.

There are also people who know where their passion lies, but they don’t make any effort to do anything about it. But passionate about something, but not taking any action relating to it makes no sense. This kind of awakening serves no purpose and makes you even more miserable as you continuously remind yourself that you aren’t doing the work that you apparently love doing.

How to Find Your Passion?

You are walking on the sparkly sidewalk with a wide grin on your face, hearing the whoosh of the wind blowing around. You have a big cup of coffee in your hand and you say a polite ‘Thank you’ to the person who opened the glass door of your office building for you. Does this sound great? Would you like to go to work in high spirits or do you want to start your morning with a grumpy look on your face?

Your work is what consumes the one-third of your day. Even during your off-duty hours, you think about work-related issues. Since your job is an important part of your life, it is important to invest in something that makes you truly happy and warm from inside.

There are so many people who understand the importance of being passionate about their work. But they are at a loss as they cannot identify what their passion is. This may seem a bit strange, but this is a common feeling among people.
If you are a high school student and are worrying about not knowing which field you should choose, you should relax. Many adults – even experienced professionals – also struggle with finding their true calling. There are so many self-help books where people talk about leaving their high-paying corporate jobs for becoming a cheese farmer or a yoga instructor. Does the term ‘finding your passion’ mean that you have to take a drastic step in your life and leave everything behind to follow your dreams? This is a fear that holds people to follow their dreams. Sometimes, people think that they will have to say goodbye to their current living standards, should they take the plunge and venture out in the unknown.

It is understandable why people’s decisions are influenced by money. But, following your passion doesn’t mean that you have to sell your mansion and live on the streets. It also does not mean that you have to say yes to low-paying jobs just because you are not satisfied with what you are currently doing. Being passionate about your job means being happy with what you do.

The biggest question is how to find your passion. While some people are lucky to identify their passion at a very young age, most have to pay extra attention to figuring out where their interests lie. Take some time out and reflect on what you are doing in your life and what you need to do.

Make a list of jobs that you absolutely loathe. It could be anything. For example, you know that you are not cut out for HR – you cannot deal with people coming to you with their problems and in event of conflict resolutions, you would be too overwhelmed to work out a solution. In addition, imagine being a banker and spending nine hours a day balancing accounts. It can be quite tedious.

Your list can have more than one job that you absolutely hate. This initial list will allow you to realize that these jobs, regardless of how high-paying they are, cannot make you happy and that you feel lethargic even when thinking about them.

You cannot possibly excel at a job that bores you to death. In the same manner, you should make a list of jobs that you love to do. For instance, if you love writing, you can be easily fit in media houses, writing for high-end magazines or newspapers. If you love helping people, you can become a lawyer and become the voice of the voiceless. You must realize that you have countless options but you have to choose the one that makes you go “This is the best job that I had”.

Why Is Passion Important?

There is one thing that we haven’t addressed yet. Why do we need to be passionate about our work?   Have you ever seen how a robot works? It is programmed in a certain way and it does whatever it is told to do so. Humans, however, cannot work that way. Each one of them has unique filters through which they see the value of their work. Passion is a profoundly positive feeling that you have for your work. It is this feeling that allows you to deal with all challenges with ease. You cannot follow a to-do list without having any feelings about them.
We are living in a highly competitive world and if we are not passionate about something, we are likely to give in. It is our passion that allows us to become stronger and keep moving even if everything seems to be falling apart.

• Passion as a Motivator

When you are down and you feel like there is nothing you can do to make things better, how would you bring yourself to keep moving? Imagine things going down the hill and you are drowned in work. How would you deal with such a situation? Passion is the peg that holds you together. When things get tough, it is your passion that helps you fight. Passion helps you face your fear and stand your ground.

Suppose you are a startup founder. There will come a time when you will have to deal with the problems of finance. The angel investor who had promised to invest in your venture has turned you down. You have a roadmap to reaching your goal, but you don’t have enough cash. Should you wind everything up and forget about your dreams? There are so many people who stood their ground and didn’t give up. They continued to face the challenges and perform better. What motivated them to keep fighting is their passion. Regardless of the circumstances, it is their passion that pushes them towards their goal. In addition, they let their passion to define their attitude towards the challenges that come their way.

• Passion in Leaders

A business leader is a frontman who leads their team toward organizational goals. A passionate leader plays an important role in motivating employees. Such leaders have a clear vision of the company’s goals and they take important steps to align the staff’s goals with the organization’s objectives. A de-motivated leader will transfer the same energy to their employees who will not make an extra effort to meet organizational goals.

• Passion in Employees

This is more to working at your office for the lucrative paycheck you receive at the end of every week. Your passion for work will drive you to meet your targets easily. It will also increase your productivity. A passionate employee has a sense of ownership for the work that they do. Passionate employees also contribute to the growth of the organization.

• Smooth Sailing

We have stressed on the fact that following your passion doesn’t mean that your field of work will be hurdle-free. Being passionate about your job means you are ready to tackle the challenges bravely. You are not afraid of anything and you will pick yourself back up. Every business struggles and, at times, even your rivals make the most of the situation and continue throwing curveballs at you. If you are passionate about your work, you are always ready to keep fighting in the face of adversity.

• Being Happy

As mentioned earlier, you spent a large chunk of your day at work. In fact, your whole life is depended on your work schedule. What is the point of being trapped in an office you don’t want to be trapped in? What is the point of working nine to five at an organization which cannot contribute to your growth? When you are passionate about your work, your heart will be at peace. You would know that whatever you are doing is worth it. You don’t mind staying late for meeting the deadlines on important projects. This is because you know that your work is important and you are not just doing the job to pay the bills. Choosing a work that makes you happy is essential for having a productive work life.

• Be Loyal to Your Self

You know they say that you cannot love anything if you don’t love yourself. And by loving yourself, experts don’t mean that you have to pamper yourself or treat yourself with a cup of coffee. This means that you have to be loyal to your inner self. Doing something you are passionate about means that you are being loyal to yourself. Passion brings you closer to your dream. If you don’t have the passion to do something, you will end up being only a dreamer who could have if they had tried.

• Excel At Your Work

Passion allows you to learn new things so that you can work efficiently, If you are working just for the sake of it, you won’t take steps to learn new skills. But if you are passionate about your work, you make the effort to learn and grow. Your journey from being a junior employee to filling in the seat of a senior position is guided by your passion. If you are passionate about your job, you can easily climb up the ladder of success in no time.

Is Passion Necessary for Success?

So is success linked with passion? Yes. Passion is the reason why you keep learning to work toward mastery. If you have no passion, you will remain stuck in a boring loop. When you are working, you have to ensure that your job sparks joy in you. You don’t have to remain stuck in a nine-to-five loop, only to remain miserable and hoping to break free.
You have to remember that your passion gives you the strength to face the challenges. You can reach the stars only if you are passionate about something. If you don’t have any passion, you are most likely to give up without putting up a fight. Passion is the energy that gives you the power to focus on the thing that excites you. Without passion, you will work like a robot with no motivation to reach a position where only a few could reach.

Wrapping It Up

The importance of passion in your career is indescribable. It is a passion that gives you the energy to be better than your previous self. It is a passion that motivates you to learn new things. A highly-skilled worker is good for getting a job done, but a passionate and skilled worker is an indispensable asset of any organization. You can live a mechanical life doing whatever you are told or you can write the script of your life and do things that you love to do.