How to Combine Your Passions With Your Occupation

One of the greatest dilemmas of the human existence is to find purpose. We are built to try to exploit meaning in everything that we do and in what happens to us. That meaning we are searching for is ultimately the derivative of a longing for fulfillment. It is an overarching theme that humans want to feel fulfilled in whatever they are producing.

This comes in the form of many different passions that we deem worthy of allocating our time towards. We enjoy doing these things because they lead us to fulfillment in some form or another. When considering this, many have passions that they would much rather be pursuing than the looming truth that their time is being directed towards their occupation which they may or may not enjoy.

So why would we spend our time doing anything but what we enjoy? Most of the time we make an exception for our own happiness when it is compared to that of our survival. When providing for ourselves and others, happiness is a sacrifice that most are willing to take in order to live a stable life.

In this article, we will explore the topic of pursuing an occupation which can both involve the fulfillment we long for as well as the stability we all need.

Why combine your passions with your occupation?

Before proceeding further it is important to note that in order to live a happy life we all need some form of monetary cashflow. Combining your passion with your work doesn’t mean you should quit your job outright. It would prove to be a disastrous attempt if you weren’t producing some sort of revenue alongside what you were pursuing. Instead, it is a way to begin thinking about how you can do what you enjoy in tandem with your occupation.

Many people are in their occupations now because they are striving to unlock the freedom they desire to be able to achieve their ultimate dream. The only thing holding them back most of the time are FINANCES.

Here is where the dilemma begins to unfold. We want to be able to do what we enjoy but we don’t have the necessary funds to live a comfortable life while doing it so we come to the conclusion that we will sacrifice our happiness and work a job we may not enjoy so that one day we can have the money we need and then be happy.

While this is a very sound and reasonable conclusion to make, why should you have to sacrifice your happiness today so that you can be happy in the future? Realizing what you enjoy doing and incorporating that into your work allows you to get the most out of what you are producing and in turn, leading to greater feelings of fulfillment.

This guide is mainly for those who are trying to find more fulfillment in their work. If you are someone that has been drifting through the motions and no longer feels invigorated by your job, then maybe it’s time to look internally and find out what you truly enjoy.

Analyzing your passions

A great question to ask yourself when you are analyzing your passions is, if I were to take money completely out of the equation, where would I be allocating my time? Would it be with friends? Would it be reading, drawing, engineering? Maybe even traveling?

This is an important topic to explore as it will be the cornerstone of how you incorporate it into your work. Finding what you enjoy doing is a process and may not automatically come to you. Instead, take time with each activity that you might have an interest in and see if it’s something that you would really enjoy doing.

When looking into your passions, you should be aware of what energizes you. What could you get on a stage and talk to a group of people about for hours on end? People always talk about how if you like what you’re doing you never work a day in your life. This is largely due to the fact that you are passionate about what you are doing. You are effectively tapping into a pool of endless energy.

If you’d like to learn more about strategies to find your passions I made a video which could help you on your search down below!

How to actually combine your passions with your occupation

Now that we know the reasoning behind why someone may want to incorporate their passions into their occupation, it is time to figure out exactly how this can be done. Like I said earlier, there is no need to quit your job while pursuing this. One of the number one ways I see people miss this opportunity all together is by thinking they have to give up everything they’ve already built before they can incorporate their passions into their job.

This is simply not the case.

You should make sure that you are financially secure throughout this entire process. Otherwise you may find that instead of enjoying your passions in your workplace, you will be feeling stress about your future income.

Instead, there are three ways that I would recommend actually combining your passions with your occupation.

1. Work on your passions outside your occupation at first until you are able to grow them into your actual source of income.
   • For example, maybe you would like to start a YouTube channel or a podcast talking about whatever you are passionate about. By devoting a small amount of time outside of your occupation initially, the hope is that one day you can dedicate a larger portion of your time, maybe even all of it, towards your newly built business.
2. Combine your passions with your work skills to elevate your career and eventually your service or good.
   • One way of doing this is to think about the skills you currently have and what you enjoy doing and then finding out different ways of combining them. Maybe your skills lie in finance, but you also enjoy being around people. Becoming a financial planner would be a great way for you to combine both your skills for finances as well as your love for people. It’s ideas like these which help give direction as to where we should move forward in our careers, and be happy while doing it.
3. A third way you could attempt to combine your passions with your occupation would be to find a line of work which is extremely flexible, that way when you have free time you can spend your time doing what you enjoy.
   • I realize that this can be a tough concept to make a reality, but it is becoming an even bigger possibility with the introduction of remote work into the job market. By being able to work remote, it makes the transition to working on your passions so much easier because you can work on it when you’re not busy at work or straight after you get off instead of having to spend that time commuting home.

Here is a list of examples of possible ways to combine your passions with your occupation to hopefully get your mind flowing with ideas…

1. Use your passion for photography to take professional pictures for people.
2. Use your love for guitar to play at weddings or social events.
3. Use your editing skills to create marketing or conceptual videos for local businesses.
4. Use your finance skills and passion for people to become a CFP.
5. Use your love for leather working to create a leather goods store.
6. Use your interest in fashion to create a clothing brand for your affiliations whether that be a school you attend or a company you work at (be careful of trademarks here).
7. Use your love for surfing to give lessons to people who are interested in getting better.
8. Use your interest in school to provide teaching lessons and tips for studying better.
9. Use your passion for writing to create a blog about your other interests.
10. Use your cooking skills to create YouTube videos which give recipe tutorials.

A majority of the time what most people are looking for is the ability to create freedom in their lives and produce something they can be proud of. No one wants to have to be controlled at the mercy of someone else. In the end, “freedom” really is just the control of ones time. By creating order in our lives and establishing set times for working on our passion, we become closer to achieving true freedom.

By following the steps listed above, you may become one step closer to being able to add flavor into your day to day life. No longer will you walk through the motions wishing that you could do something else! Instead, combining your passions with your occupation is becoming an actual reality which could help you live the life you want to.

Please let me know if you have any more ideas which have worked for you to make your passions a reality! I enjoy being able to learn more and connect with you, the reader!

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