Is Passion Required? : Shortcast

Are you passionate about your work?
Do you think passion is required to do a job well?
Should we even be considering chasing passion in a career?
Or should we save passion for our hobbies? 

This exploration comes out of my conversation with this week’s guest Shaahin Cheyene. On the programme he says that he is not passionate about what he does, and that he does not encourage people to follow their passion in their work. 

I had mixed views about that and decided to explore it in the shortcast by reviewing my own career.

So here’s my point…

If you can hold your nose and do a job you hate because it pays you a fortune that enables you to do something else with that money that lights your candle, all power to you. But I would suggest it is not something that can be done for years. 

I know from the conversations I’ve had and the people I’ve met that doing something which either hurts your morals or goes against your values is bad for your health and never ends well.

The Universe has a habit of guiding us to the place we need to be, and when we ignore these things that noise gets louder. We have all seen it, people burn out, suffer breakdowns or other health issues. 

There is a school of thought that says your passion cannot help but come out in your life. You will always find a way to do the work that you are meant to do. You will always find a way to get your passion out into the world.  

I am a good example, I have always been a coach. I was coaching my friends in school to do stuff and I have coached people in all of my jobs. My entire life I have always talked to people about how they can make the most of life and feel better about something.

In this show…

I share my personal experience of working for 20 years in a job I was not passionate about and what I learned from it and from others.

Having revealed what I discovered, I then offer some suggestions and exercises (see below) for you to explore your own passion and how it manifests in your work and hobbies.

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Recommended Exercise

I suggest using a journal for this exercise.

Are you happy with what you are doing?
Give it a number between 1-10 and see what you get. Now look at all the things that you are doing in the role, 

Write a list.
Which bits do you like and which bits are not so good. Give those tasks a score between 1-10.

Now look at all of the 7’s and above.
What is it about those bits that you like? Why does it make you happy? Is it a value or a passion?

Look at the lower numbers.
What is it about them that sucks?  Does it conflict with something? Do you feel uncomfortable about it for some reason?

What you’ll discover…

This is a map of your work relative to your values and passion. You can expand it out as much as you like and it’s a very valuable exercise. Some of the tasks are scratching your passions and they will be the reason you are happy in your work.

Like all these exercises, there is no right or wrong, it is just an exploration of where you are with life. However, if you have the capacity to delegate the bits that don’t bring you joy, then that will be all the better for everyone.

I hope this shortcast has been useful for you and that it gives you some food for thought.

The interview with Shaahin Cheyene is very interesting and as I mentioned he brings a different perspective. So if you want to check it out you will find it here on the website:-

https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/shaahin-cheyene-rags-to-riches/

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Life Passion & Business Podcast is about finding answers to life’s big questions through weekly interview with guest speakers. The Shortcast is my ongoing commitment to staying inquisitive and passionate about life with whatever is alive for me each week. Follow the links below to discover what else is on offer.

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