“Follow your passion! Do whatever your heart desires! Love what you do!”
These are things that we often hear when we ask others for advice on what we should pursue as a career. People say that if you follow your passion you will be able to head into the right career path. However, we don’t always see people pursuing career paths in things that they are passionate about.
If someone were to ask you what you are passionate about, you may have a bunch of different answers. Some might say making music, photography, sports and other activities. But why do certain people follow these as career paths and others do not? There are only a certain number of musicians, photographers and athletes, even though many people may be passionate about these activities. I realized that the two other driving factors of whether or not you should pursue something as a career, in addition to having a love for what you do, is your ambition and your personality.
Using myself as an example, I am passionate about writing! However, I would also describe myself as a pretty outgoing person, so working by myself and writing all the time may not be right for me. If I decided to choose a writing focused role in the future, I would want to have aspects of connection and collaboration with others for me to truly enjoy myself! Another key element to my personality is that I like to help others. I enjoy editing my friends’ assignments, helping them through difficult times and making efforts to make someone’s day a little brighter. As a result, this aspect of my personality has developed an ambition for myself to pursue a career in which I see my actions having a meaningful impact on the lives of others.
So, where did that leave me – and where does that leave you?
I think that the key to finding that perfect career is combining your ambition, personality and passion all into one beautiful sundae of success. Ask yourself some basic questions to help you figure out what you want to do in the future. What do you enjoy? What qualities do you possess? What values are important to you in a job and career?
Asking these questions have helped me realize that I want to have a career that allows me to engage in social issues, help others and speak my mind. Perhaps I will work as a policy analyst, a writer, a diplomat- who really knows? What I do know though, is that I am going to focus on the areas that will allow me to discuss issues of public policy and this what I’m going to use to guide myself through the next 4 years!
I am still only starting off my university career, meaning my interests and goals could still change along the way. However, I do feel that by thinking consciously about what would suit my ambition, personality and passions, I was able to narrow down what I didn’t want to pursue. This led me to the path that I am on now. If you feel like you’re unsure of whether or not you are in the right program, or on the right path, take a step back. See if you have the passion and ambition for what you are pursuing, along with the personality traits that will help you thrive!