Everyday, people are picking the wrong jobs so that they can live every Sunday Evening dreading Monday and growing old wondering if they really made the right life decisions.
Many fresh graduates, carry around this notion (and understandably so) that there would be a massive paying job for them. The result of this ‘expectation’ is that they come out of school dodging jobs with the kind of pride that makes them declare “I’d rather stay home than work at ABC”.
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However, this is quite problematic as this mindset leads many to stray down a path that doesn’t best suit them. When people choose their careers, they are sometimes blinded by money and so choose to follow the paper trail.
Although money is great and can buy us all the things that will temporarily make us happy, no amount of money can buy time.
Time is our most valuable asset and it is something, that while on this earth, we should spend wisely. You shouldn’t feel like you’re mindlessly wasting your life away.
I have seen and heard many stories where a person who is not happy in their job, takes that first, sometimes scary, step towards their passion and next thing, the person is living the life of their dreams.
Whether it’s 1 or 2 years later, or whether it’s 5 years later, following their dreams and passions, will lead to a more fulfilling and enjoyable life.
This is not a post about venturing into entrepreneurship although part of following your passion could be having entrepreneurial ambitions. This post is about knowing who you are and who you aren’t and having the courage and wisdom to follow through with that knowledge.
For many of you that have lost touch with your core desires, you will need to take stock to find out what your true passion is.
If you have the strong desire to live financially free and make a living on your own terms, but are unsure of exactly what lights your fire, then it might be a good time for a bit of self-discovery.
A self-discovered life would eliminate the need to keep searching for a bigger salary and start taking lots of continuous small steps towards something you love doing. Most people miss their opportunity to follow their dreams (or any dreams, for that matter) because they’re too fearful of taking the first couple steps.
Are you doing what you love?
Are you passionate about what you currently do to earn a living?
Here are 16 sound reasons below about going after your passion that beats being unproductive (think of being unproductive in any possible context)
1. Working for money is really not a good enough motivation for one to keep at their career
Every morning Monday through Friday you go to work 9 to 5 sitting and punching away the hours, stressing about the work at hand. This is not a way to enjoy life. Working for 8 hours a day 5 times a week at something that makes you miserable is not the way you live life to the fullest.
2. Don’t Believe the Hype
Often we are led to think that that uncle that is a banker is doing this life thing very well. Another example of a hyped up job is a lawyer. You see their exciting lives on TV. But behind the scenes, ask some lawyers if they would recommend reading law to a student and they might just give a big no. We have a grass-is-greener approach to professions that are not our own. It’s not that banking isn’t a good job but if you have a skill, don’t ignore it.
3. Working will overtake most of our lives, so we might as well do something we enjoy
Because we have to become adults, we spend almost two-thirds of our lifespan working to make ends meet unless you were born into a wealthy family or married contentedly into a rich one. Other than that, we might as well accept life the way we meet it. Many people however, believe that work is something they have to do rather then something they can enjoy. Once you realize that your career CAN be something you enjoy, then you will lead a happy and fulfilling life.
4. More inspiring people please
Yes, we are in serious lack of inspiration and motivation on the continent. Every young African seems to be looking for fast money. More and more graduates are being churned out on a period basis that are either delusional or clueless. People need to see that sticking to a dream albeit the absence of emergency wealth isn’t bad afterall.
5. Pick a Lifestyle, not a Job Title
Look at the lives you see people having, and ask yourself whose life you would want. That’s easy, right? But now look deeper. You can’t just have the life they have now. You need to cultivate the habit of making the right decisions day to day in order to have a really fulfilling, predictable life.
6. It will not feel like work
There is nothing worse than having to wake up every morning during the week to mindlessly go do work you don’t even care about. However, this is never really an issue when you are passionate about the work you do. If you are not forced to work somewhere because of monetary constraint, you truly enjoy what you do and you never really work a day in your life.
7. Passion is contagious
As a mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, colleague or cousin who works, there is always someone looking up to you. It is so important to be a role model for young ones. When they see and sense that you love your job and that it’s meaningful to you, they become inspired to find careers that fulfill them also.
8. You save some good hospital money
When you value money over your overall health and your passion, you will find yourself in an endless cycle of misery. Work no longer becomes a career or a journey, but more of a taxing nuisance on your mind and body that has to get done.
9. you are more passionate about your job,the harder you work
On some days at work, you will be required to go above and beyond the call of duty. In certain times during the busy seasons, you may be asked to do certain tasks that are not part of your everyday schedule. It is much easier for you to put in the extra work if it’s something you actually care about.
10. You keep learning and improving
If you are passionate about your job, you are likely to take an active interest in learning every aspect of the business. This not only sets you on the path toward success, it also helps you get through the daily grind.
11. No setbacks will stop you from achieving success
Because you are passionate about what you do, you have that sense of being unstoppable, letting nothing obstruct you from achieving greatness. Your passion ignites your work, and like a rocket, it speeds you past normal struggles that may happen. Any obstacle that comes your way is like a challenge that is duly accepted and killed off easily with a creative solution.
12. No matter how much money you make, the feeling of misery never goes when doing something you hate
Many people have all this money piled up, but they never really get to enjoy the fruits of their labor because hate their jobs because they aren’t really passionate about what they do. Is there a worse feeling than doing something you hate? Eventually this hatred will cause stress and in the long run, it will have lasting effects on your health.
13. You’re a more effective leader.
Without a deep-seeded conviction for the work you do, it is impossible to convince others to engage and follow your lead. When you love your work, people will take note.
14. You will get more fulfillment when you finally make it.
There are few feelings better than achieving a level of success you set out for yourself. Nothing like crossing off your bucket list of goals you set out for yourself to achieve. When you finally reach the pinnacle, it is that much more enjoyable knowing you got there doing something you love.
15. Free yourself from regrets
Many people who choose careers that don’t make them happy will tell you that they would all do it differently if they had the chance. You only have one life, so don’t waste it working somewhere you hate just because of the money.
16. You push yourself to succeed even more.
I have been fortunate to find my passion in blogging and technology at AfterSchoolAfrica, and we are meticulous on the culture and the people we are reaching out to. Our goal isn’t just to push scholarships but to hold hands with the continent and elevate it by offering it’s members superabundant, exquisite opportunities.Â
When you love what you do, you are compelled to push against yourself and sometimes it stops being about you but about a cause bigger and far more reaching mission not too big for you to handle because, PASSION.
Get out there and start somewhere – take a step, a hop, a leap, or a plunge – but, whatever it is, just do something. Remember work doesn’t have to be something that feels burdensome, stay true to yourself and always do what makes you happy.
