No, Really: How Do I Find My Passion?
We hear from many of you who want to know: With so many options, how do I choose the right career path for me? How do I find meaningful work that makes the most of my talents and leaves me feeling fulfilled? How do I find my passion? We’ve pulled together a few of our favorite resources to help you explore those questions, and maybe even find some answers.
Articles
Fast Exercises to Find Your Purpose and Passion for Work
This great article from Fast Company features 14 short exercises you can do, including asking a question inspired by an Indian guru.
Five Steps to Finding Your Passion
This process outlined in Psychology Today is from Susan Biali, author of Live a Life You Love: 7 Steps to a Healthier, Happier, More Passionate You.
How to Find Your Passion in Five Creativity Exercises
Entrepreneur magazine outlines five ways to find your passion, including making a list of people who are where you want to be and taking a break from business thinking.
Quizzes
Get Your Personality Type
Quistic offers a free version of the Myers-Briggs personality test. Your results will include lots of helpful articles to read about what makes you tick and what direction you might take, as well as some courses you might enjoy.
Play Games to Learn More
On the Pymetrics site, instead of answering questions about your psychological profile, you play games. The company then uses neuroscience research so you can discover your strengths and explore careers based on those talents. We haven’t tried it yet, but we like the innovative approach.
Follow Oprah's Lead
This quiz featured on Oprah.com comes at the issue from the angle of “Who am I meant to be?” and identifies your “striving style.” Most importantly, Oprah thinks you should do it. (If you want to go with Oprah but you're already quizzed out, you could read 4 Steps to Find Your Life's Path by regular Oprah contributor Martha Beck.)
Or you could keep things simple and take the BuzzFeed careers quiz.
One more thing
It’s also worth saying that sometimes you just need a job, and finding your passion can seem like a luxury. This New York Times article by Colson Whitehead about the phenomenon of “You Do You” is worth a read, as is this Idealist.org interview with Lodro Rinzler about “pursing meaningful work when you need to work.”
Good luck -- let us know what happens!
