I have talked about passion before in my articles and it is always interesting to receive the feedback from all of you on what you feel ‘passion’ really is. The reality, however, is that passion can be a dirty word. It can be misused and misinterpreted, sending shivers down your spine each time you hear it.
Passion is a word that holds a different meaning for everyone. And not everyone can see the link that this word has, or will have, to their career. So let’s look at things a little bit differently. Let’s talk about the word ‘purpose’. A lot of people can related more effectively to finding purpose in their career, or in their job. It is a much less emotional word and can have a meaning that is more commonly shared.
What is purpose?
Purpose is ultimately the reason why you do or create something. It can also be your own individual sense of determination. You can see how these meanings can link you to your career.
What is a career purpose?
Not everyone sees what they do as their career, but I argue that this is because it is actually their purpose not to have a career. For many individuals, a job is something that provides them with the opportunity of fulfilling other goals. Take for example, an individual that wants to study but knows that they need so much money to be able to commit to that study. They take up a role that meets their financial goals; as this is their purpose. But this purpose has no less meaning or value if the individual had a different purpose, perhaps one that focused more on their desire to be a General Manager of their organisation.
The purpose that we have personally will drive our determination to achieve something in our careers, and this then becomes our career purpose.
Why is this important?
Ever had the feeling of not wanting to get up in the morning, but realising you have to as other people are depending on you? Those people are your purpose, your reason for getting up in the morning. This is why recognising your actual purpose in your career is important. Whatever this purpose is, it is that which you need to fulfil to assist in you achieving appropriate motivation to get out of bed in the morning.
So what can my purpose be?
We are all different. This also means that our purpose will be different as we need to fulfil very different objectives and desires. Some of the things that people identify as their purpose includes:
- Financial needs
- Individual status
- Working in a team
- Having nice holidays
- Buying new cars
- Saving for a house
- Living a comfortable life
- Being mentally challenged
- Being physically fit
- Teaching others
All of these items, and many others, may align to your own purpose. Or you may not even know what your purpose is just yet. If not, this is something that you should start to consider as this will help you ensure that you are personally satisfied which in turn may increase your level of satisfaction in the job or career that you have chosen.
How do I identify my purpose?
Identifying your purpose may be easy, or it may be something that you need to work with a career coach on to identify. The best place to start is to take an outside look in to your own thoughts. What do you desire the most? Is this related to your current role or is your current role going to support you in getting there? Is your need about financial reward? Or is it mental challenges? If so, are these being satisfied or what can you do to achieve this? Do you need to seek more financial rewards or should you look to studying? Do you want to help others? Are you able to volunteer in this or is this something you would like to do full time and you need to transition your career?
There are a lot of questions around each of these and this is why it is not something that you may be able to answer straight away. If you feel that you cannot answer this yourself, then it is recommended that you look for a qualified and accredited career coach that can support you in this.
Remember, whether it is a job or a career that you have, as long as they are fulfilling your purpose then you will have much greater satisfaction.
