Ask EDN: March 2019

Hi EDN,

I have been working for a while and I’m happy with my job, but I don’t know if it’s my “passion.” I know passion is a super vague term, but I do know so many people who love their jobs and I don’t feel that way (it’s OK but not amazing). How do you know when you’ve found a good career for you? How do you figure out what you like to do and what careers might be a good fit? Is “passion” even a real thing? I would like to start exploring but don’t know where to start, and I have a pretty generic undergraduate degree.

Seeking Passion

Dear Seeking Passion,

Finding your passion can be difficult! Many Eritreans, and members of the diaspora in general, can be raised to focus on career success and not necessarily finding something you love. We pulsed the EDN network and are happy to share that there’s consensus in passion existing, but it takes shape in many ways and can change over time.

Passion can often be tied to purpose and values, so you can start your quest by thinking about your “big why” in life (not just work): what do you want to achieve and what is important to you? When you know what’s important to you as a person, you’ll naturally be passionate in reaching your purpose.

I know that finding your purpose is still a pretty big concept, so start with what you’re doing today. When you’re at work, what type of projects would you spend all your time on if your boss let you? Maybe you’re really into mining through massive data sets and creating data visualizations, so your purpose could be translating data to tell a meaningful story. If so, there’s lots of careers or educational opportunities you can start exploring. When you find something you like to do, jump on it! Talk to your manager or mentor about doing or learning more. Maybe it will be your passion, maybe it won’t; either way you are one step closer to narrowing it down. (In that regard, it’s also helpful to think about what you don’t like doing and exploring the opposite.)

Sometimes, the things that you are most passionate about might not even be in the office. What opportunities can you find that will challenge and stretch you? The idea of being super passionate about your career has become popular, but don’t forget that your time outside of work is critical to exploring and creating new interests and relationships. Try fun new hobbies that areant about work; think about what you do in your spare time and why you love it. You’re likely to find passion in your home or community.

Also, don’t forget to focus on what makes you happy. Like we said above, many of us are conditioned to strive for career success (read: material success). That could be what makes you the most happy, or it could not be. Be open to all possibilities, and be honest with yourself about what is important to creating the life you want to live. If a certain salary or career field is important to you, that’s okay and you should work towards it. If you’re more open, that’s also okay — it’s all about what you need to live your best life.

Another theme we gathered is that passions will always change. Find ways to learn new skills, challenge yourself, and stretch your limits to invigorate your passion, and keep thinking about your overall purpose and values. Passion is just the feeling you get when you’re excited about something, and there’s always more than one way to feel that.

If you’d like to learn more, we also sourced a book recommendation for you: The Element by Ken Robinson. Keep searching for your passion, and remember to keep track of what makes you most excited every day!