The AP How to find your passion

Five-step guide:
How to get clear about your ideal career
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HELLO!
So your current career isn’t working for you.
You’re not alone.
Research carried out by the London School of Business and Finance in 2015 revealed that
47 percent of UK professionals want to change their career, but most don’t out of fear.
And 20 percent are scared to make the change because they don’t know which career to
switch to.
You’re reading this guide and that suggests that just like that 20 percent, you also want to
make a change but have no idea what to change to. Alternatively, you may have a number
of paths that appeal to you, but you’re struggling to pick the one you want to pursue.
One of the greatest lies that has been sold to us time and time again is that everyone
has a passion that burns so deep it’s obvious from an early age. That’s why as a
society we’re so obsessed with asking children: “What do you want to be when you
grow up?’’
For a lucky minority, that passion is clear from an early age – we all know people who knew
they wanted to be an artist, athlete or doctor from an early age – for the rest of us, however,
finding our life’s purpose can be a long process that leads to confusion, frustration and a
nagging feeling that something is inherently wrong with us.
But that's not true, and that’s why we created this guide.
Make no mistake, we aren’t saying that everyone has one passion and we can find that for
you, but all of us – yes, even you - has at least one career path that’s a great fit. But just as
it’s hard to find your way in the dark without a torch, it’s hard to see this path when you’re
drowning in confusion.
Consider this guide your torch.
We interviewed dozens of psychotherapists, life coaches and career coaches, and used the
information they gave us to put together the five key questions they said will help anyone –
no matter how confused – discover the work they are most passionate about.
Print out the following pages and work your way through the questions. They're quick and
straightforward, but they'll get you thinking in a way you never have and they'll pull out the
answers you need to get clear on your ideal career.
So, let’s get started.

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STEP ONE
Get clear on what passion means to you.
When asked what living an on-purpose life feels like, most people describe jumping out of
bed excited about the day ahead. Words such as happy, fulfilled, content and making a
difference are also used. But these words all mean different things to different people. For
some, respect and prestige equal happiness, while for others, happiness comes from being
part of a cause that’s bigger than themselves or leaving a legacy.
If you’re unsure of your passion, the first place to start is to get clear about why you want to
be in a career you’re passionate about, rather than one that simply keeps you busy and
pays the bills.
So, over to you.
Complete the following sentences:
I will know I’ve found my passion when .......................................................................
……....................................................................................................................................
When I’ve found my passion my life will (describe how your daily/overall life will look)
…........................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
When I’ve found my passion I will feel……....................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
Now re-read these completed sentences.
These collectively form your compass.
These are the feelings and outcomes you’re chasing, which means that from now on, when
you’re trying to work out if you should take a new job, quit your current one or try a career
path you think could be a good fit for you, ask yourself if the decision is well aligned with
your definition of passion.
If it moves you closer to the life you’ve described above, then you’re on the right path.
If it doesn’t, think very carefully before moving down that path.
.

STEP TWO
Identify the strengths you take for granted.
Most of us tend to be hard on ourselves. We focus on our weaknesses, failures and what
we’re yet to achieve.
What we forget is that just as we look enviously at others’ lives and talents, they do the
same to us.
In this step, let’s focus on the things you naturally excel at – these are the things that come
so naturally to you that you may be oblivious to the fact that you’re better at doing these
things than the average person.
So how can you identify these strengths?
A good place to start is answering the following questions:
When others approach me for advice, they usually want help with .............................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
My friends would say I’m good at…......................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
Now re-read these completed sentences. These indicate the things you’re already an expert
at doing. The things you choose to give people advice on for free and in your own time
strongly indicate the career fields you may naturally excel in and enjoy.
Now imagine if you could be paid to do these things?
The good news is that in one way or another, you can. You just have to think laterally.
For example, if you’re the go-to girl for calming your friends down when they’re having
relationship problems, your ideal career could involve counselling. And if you’re always
taking the lead when there’s an event to be planned, yes you could literally have a future in
event planning, but if you think more laterally you may find that other careers that involve
project management appeal to you.
.

STEP THREE
Follow the good feelings.
It’s often said that if you do what you love, you’ll never work another day in your life. And
that’s true.
Go back to step one and review your answers to the questions posed. What feelings did you
associate with finding your passion?
Now consider your current life. Are there any activities you do that make you feel like that?
List them here:
..........................................................................................
...........................................................................................
...........................................................................................
..........................................................................................
...........................................................................................
...........................................................................................
Another way to answer this question is to consider those moments in life when you've been
busy doing something, only to discover that what felt like minutes spent on the task were
actually hours… and you enjoyed it!
Complete this sentence:
Time flies when I ..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................

STEP FOUR
Eliminate the fear of failure.
Those who ignore a career path they’re attracted to usually do so because of a fear of
failure.
Failing to meet others’ or your own previous expectations e.g. the path you want to
take is not as respected or prestigious as the path you're currently on
Failing to make enough money to always feel financially secure
Failing to make it to the top of your dream field
Failing to be any good at your dream career
And even though the failure we fear is hypothetical, most of us create an internal dialogue
that brings it to life, so much so that we talk ourselves out of even trying. We’d rather remain
stuck and unhappy than try something new and fail.
Of course, we don't see this when we're faced with the difficult decision of making a change
or sticking to a career path that’s making us unhappy. Instead, we rationalise and justify the
fear-related paralysis we experience.
"I probably wouldn’t like it."
"Louise tried it and ended up going back to her old job - I bet the same will happen to me."
"The only people I know in that field are well connected and I’m not."
"I’ll do it when I’ve saved enough money to go part-time."
So, let’s eliminate failure as an option for a minute.
Answer the following questions, and be as crazy and unrealistic as you like:
If I won the lottery what ‘play’ career would I choose… just to keep me busy?
................................................................................................................................................
If I knew that success was guaranteed, what field would I go into?
................................................................................................................................................
The magic lies in these answers. While you doing the specific role you’ve written above may
not be realistic (e.g. you may want to be an astronaut but you suffer from motion sickness),
the answers to these questions highlight the field in which your heart lies. And it is definitely
possible to work in all fields in some capacity. An aspiring singer who can’t carry a tune
could find a lot of fulfilment from working in music production, and an aspiring astronaut who
suffers from motion sickness may really enjoy designing space travel simulations.
The key to determining if your passion is the specific career you listed above OR if a more
easily attainable version will do is your answer to the question: why?
Can any other job or career produce the same answer to the why question? If so, these are
paths that are also worth exploring.

STEP FIVE
Listen to your inner voice
Step five is the easiest and hardest step of them all.
At The Ambition Plan, we know from experience that the answer to the ‘what am I meant to
do with my life?’ question lies within you.
You won’t like what we’re about to say BUT you actually already know what the work you
were meant to do is.
However, fear, doubt, guilt and all of the stresses of life today can cloud your mind and
silence the wise voice within you. This is why taking time to check in with yourself and listen
to your true desires is the final step in working out the best career path for you. And it’s the
easiest because it requires you to do absolutely nothing. But it’s the hardest because giving
up control over something you want so badly requires blind faith and a LOT of patience –
two things that can be in short supply when you feel like you’re failing at life.
Think about what happens when you want to recall a word, song or put a name to a familiar
face and your mind draws a blank. In most cases the more you try to think of it, the harder it
becomes. However, hours later when you’re busy doing something else the word, song or
name pops into your mind.
The same is true for becoming attuned to your ‘calling’ ‘purpose’, ‘passion’ or whatever else
you want to call it. As long as you spend all day obsessing over it, reading self-help books,
doing quizzes and frantically job searching, the answer will continue to elude you.
So, we're going to leave you here.
The questions you answered earlier in this guide have already put your mind into the zone it
needs to be in. Now it's time to let things marinate for a minute and wait for the magic to
happen.
If any ideas pop into your mind as you go about your daily life over the next couple of days,
write them down and go and research them ASAP. Don't put it off because those ideas are
your subconscious' response to the soul-searching you've done in this guide.
Good luck and don't forget to keep us posted on your progress.
You can reach us on Instagram: @theambitionplan

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