UNITED STATES—When it comes to work, we all have to find purpose in it. What does that mean? It means you have to feel some sense of obligation to your employer or the work that you do. It needs to make you feel a certain way and when I say that I’m not referring to the negative; we have to focus on the positive people. When it comes to work people are motivated by 3 things: 1) Money 2) Passion 3) You’re Good At It. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking, passion and being good at something are the same thing. However, they are not. When you’re passionate about something you enjoy it fully, you’re able to escape in your work. Being good at something doesn’t mean you’re passionate about what you do; you just have a knack for the job at hand.
Most of us would make the argument that money is the biggest motivator for Americans when it comes to the work they do. If I make a lot of money I will do almost anything. For some people that might be accurate, for me, not so much. Money matters, but with money comes stress, do you truly want to tact on a level of stress that you’re not sure how you’ll manage simply because you can make a lot of money? I tell this to people quite often, some understand it, some do not; the money isn’t always worth the stress that comes with it!
Money can be a great motivator, but at the same time, if money does not motivate you in the workforce, then perhaps passion and your skill set are better motivators. For me personally, passion is the thing that suits me best when it comes to work. I have to enjoy what I’m doing with my work otherwise, I’m just going thru the motions and it places me in a funky headspace. That is something I struggle with often and I know I am not the only person who feels this way.
You combat pursuit of passion versus money. Weighing the options should NOT be hard because in the world we live in you must have money to live. You have bills to pay, you have things to buy, you need money for survival. Passion doesn’t pay the bills, but then again does it? I’m mean if you’re passionate about something, you’re good at it, there is a way for you to make money from it. Guess it all goes back to you finding out what that passion is and how you can earn a solid living do it. There are a lot of things we are passionate about, but making a career out of that passion is easier said than done people.
With that said, we come to the one that I think haunts me the most, being good at something, but not fully passionate about what you do. So how do you confront that dilemma? You have to be honest with yourself. You might get paid a decent wage, you might like what you do, but you’re not fully passionate about the work, so it’s a dredge to go to work each day. That is a bummer and it forces you to ask some questions that perhaps you have been ignoring.
I can guarantee if you cannot sleep at night and you’re constantly worried and stressed about work that is a sign to not be ignored. That stress being added to your life cannot be healthy for your physical and mental health. Start thinking about what you can do and what you want to do to create a shift in your work that brings you a bit more purpose people. You have to find purpose in the work you do otherwise you’re just doing to be doing and tell me what is the fun in that people? I have your answer, there is none!
Written By Zoe Mitchell
