Do what you love. Isn’t that what everyone wants? Yet, many find it challenging. How can you pursue your dreams at work, at home, and in life? Try these tips.
Do What You Love: Powerful Ways to Live Your Dreams
If you want to do what you love, you must have a plan. It’s also essential to know what you love. This isn’t as easy as it sounds because while you may love doing something, doing it for a living or making changes at home or in life may seem impossible. Yet, you can make progress with these powerful tips.
Determine What Drives Your Passion
What are you most passionate about? If you yearn to do what you love and make it your career, strengthen family bonds, or engage in exciting life activities, the first step is to figure out what lights you up. However, how do you find your passion?
- Think about what makes you eager to jump out of bed and dive in. This is something you feel strongly about and can’t wait to start. For this step, allow your thoughts to center on whatever comes to mind first.
- Ask yourself why you feel so passionate about this activity. Your answers may surprise you. Besides, when you identify the source of your passion, you’re getting closer to zeroing in on a target career.
- Remember that career passion and passion at home and elsewhere always involve doing what you love and pursuing your dreams. It may be a new activity or one you’ve loved for a long time.
To Do What You Love at Work: Research the Market
The next step in doing what you love involves researching the market to find career opportunities that align with your passion. Note that this is much more than checking out a job search engine—that comes later.
- Look into company profiles and see how employees talk about what it’s like to work there. If people love their work, they’re eager to share their comments. You’ll also be able to quickly determine if they consider the company a bad place to work if you see a lot of complaints or negative feedback. Try a site like Glassdoor for valuable advice on finding companies where you’d like to work.
- Also see Glassdoor’s list of best-led companies. Again, you may be surprised. Look through the winners’ profiles, and you’ll get a great sense of a superb work environment.
- Another way to find companies whose cultures and values may mesh with yours is to check their social media accounts and websites. Besides helping you better understand the company, this also streamlines preparing for a potential job interview later.
Make Good Use of All Your Networks
Who knows you better than your network of co-workers, friends, family, and loved ones? To do what you love also involves tapping into available resources, and your network is a great way to get valuable feedback.
- Remember that you have different networks. In addition to your personal network, use your professional and social networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and others.
- Start with people you know (and who know you) best. Talk about your interests and let them know you’re seeking a job or want to significantly change your life to help you utilize your talents, strengths, and skills.
- Besides, many of the best jobs are through referrals, and people will refer those they know. A stranger can’t refer you, but your networking contacts may be your way into a great company.
- As for family and things you like to do, your network can offer encouragement, provide advice, and participate with you.
Brush Up Skills or Learn Something New
A crucial part of being able to do what you love is how good you are at it. While you may love playing the guitar, you may consider taking lessons if your musical ability sounds like cats wailing. On the other hand, if you love music but never took lessons, this may be something you can learn.
Consider Strengths and Abilities to Do What You Love
Suppose you’re an excellent communicator. This may be in the written or verbal format. Communication is an extremely valuable tool in any field, whether at work, home, or elsewhere. Besides, if you excel in this, you’ll be able to progress in any career. Improving relationships at home and finding friendships during activities is also easier.
- Remember that everyone has strengths and abilities. Many never capitalize on them. To do what you love, use what you’re good at.
Embrace Hobbies and Pastimes
Busy professionals, work-from-home individuals, young adults entering the workforce, and older adults in retirement must find ways to alleviate stress and have fun. No matter your life stage, age, socioeconomic status, or other demographic, it’s always a good time to embrace and do what you love in hobbies and pastimes.
- However, time is a limiting factor in many people’s decisions to hike mountain trails, go skiing, travel, take a course, or join a hobby or recreational group. Whatever makes you excited is an activity or pursuit you should engage in.
- Even if it’s for a short duration, only on weekends, once or twice a week, you absolutely deserve and benefit from leisure activities.
Aim for Improvement, Never Perfection
Finally, to do what you love, forget about not being good enough. Strive to make incremental improvements, not perfection. If you feel good about yourself and enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll derive immense and long-lasting benefits from pursuing your passion and living your dreams—at work, home, and in life.
Go ahead and do what you love.
