We all want to enjoy what we do for work. The struggle is that our passions can’t always produce the necessary income needed to pay bills, take care of family, and live the type of lifestyle we desire.

So how do we connect our passions with our work and still pay the bills? After all, not everyone who loves playing the guitar can become a successful rock star. Below are just a few options to think about.

OPTION ONE: CHASE YOUR PASSIONS

Chasing your passions is probably the option most of us want to pursue. This is the option people write books about. These are the stories we hear about of people who quit their jobs to chase their dreams.

For some, that works. For most, I wouldn’t recommend it. Instead, chase your passion without quitting your job and hoping for the best. Passions take time to develop. They can take even longer to create profit.

When we are genuinely passionate about something, it isn’t challenging to find a few hours here and there to dive into it. Start small. Find an avenue to express your passion in your free time and see if there is a way to use your passion to make money. If you realize you have become too busy with your day job and your passion, then it might be time to jump full time into your passion.

Keep in mind, however, that sometimes passions are no longer fun when they become careers. Exploring your passion in this way will help you figure out if a job in your passion is something you actually want to do.

OPTION TWO: EXPRESS YOUR PASSIONS IN YOUR WORK

Many of us are in our careers because something about it worked for us. We enjoyed an aspect of the work and ran with it as a career. Or maybe we fell into it and found out we were good at it. If your career works, but you are craving to fulfill a passion, there may be a way to apply your passion to your current career.

We can express passions in many different ways. The first step is to understand better your passion and how it works. You can accomplish this with behavior assessments, such as the Birkman.

Once you have a better understanding of your passion, it will be much easier to explore more ways to express it. From there, it shouldn’t be too tricky to start connecting your passion to different areas of your work.

Applying your interests to your work may be enough to start loving your career again. Keep in mind that stress, conflict, and other non-passion areas will hinder us from gaining complete fulfillment in work. It is essential to learn how to address these areas effectively since they exist in all careers.

OPTION THREE: MAKE PERSONAL TIME FOR PASSIONS

The last option doesn’t actually connect your passion with work at all. The truth is, when we are fulfilling our passions outside of work, work will become more enjoyable. In the workplace, we can feel accomplished. Outside the workplace, we can fuel our fun.

In life, priorities tend to take over. And we don’t always make our passions a priority if our passions lie outside the workplace. That is the wrong approach. Making time for our passions helps us relieve stress and feel refueled. It is vital if we are to perform at work week after week.

If you don’t need to turn a passion into a career or if expressing an aspect of your passion in your work isn’t enough, scheduling personal time to take part in your passion is critical.

It is OKAY not to realize your passions in the workplace. Work often provides a sense of purpose. Purpose and passion lead to personal fulfillment. And those can be separate from each other.

CONCLUSION

If you feel disconnected from your work, that doesn’t mean you can’t connect with your passions in other ways. There are many solutions to fueling passions apart from trying to turn your passion into a career. It is important to find what works best for you.

If you desire to start the process by getting better connected with your passions, The Active Leader can help.