Should you follow your passion??

Now a days, you hear a lot of people giving advice about finding your passion
They will tell you – you should find your passion, do what you are passionate about etc etc
And it's very easy to say, but the truth is....
There is a difference between passion and profession
If you are lucky enough, you might be able to convert your passion into your profession, but in most cases, that is not possible, right?
Let’s understand passion a bit better....
The dictionary meaning of passion is a strong feeling of excitement and enthusiasm about something or someone
It means something you feel intensely about, something which brings you a great sense of joy and happiness, something where you almost lose track of time when involved….
For example, you may be passionate about singing or dancing or any other form of art
You may be passionate about photography or running and so on….
But there are a few challenges when it comes to pursuing your passion
For one, you may not have a passion! Yes, that's right!!
It is quite possible that you might not be passionate about anything in particular – you may like doing a few things from time to time, you may be good at a few things, but that’s about it
Secondly, even if you are passionate about something, you might find it very difficult to prioritize time for the same, with everything else going on in your life. Your passion might take a backseat during different stages in your life
So what should you really do?
How should you really approach this topic?
Before I proceed further, let me clarify a few things:
If you are not passionate about anything in particular, it does NOT mean that you are living an uninteresting life
It’s perfectly fine to have a life, where you devote time and energy to multiple things including work and personal priorities, without being truly passionate about something in particular
You might eventually end up discovering something down the road or not, and that’s OK
The other thing to be clear is that following your passion does NOT always mean that you have to quit your job and walk away from everything. Absolutely NOT!
It’s perfectly fine to pursue something alongside everything else in your life, with a sense of balance
Moreover, it’s not easy to find something to which you can devote your entire life, right?
With those clarifications, let’s move on….
So if you are indeed passionate about something in particular, there are two ways to look at it:
One – simply create more time to include it as part of your routine
It sounds simple enough, yet in most cases we make this about all or nothing. We feel that our lives are so busy that we just don’t have time 

We ignore the importance of small steps or small time
Whether it is daily, weekly or monthly, it does not matter. Whether it is 10 minutes or 1 hour, it does not matter. All that matters is that you consciously spend time engaging in something which you truly enjoy and you start being disciplined about it

You consciously make it part of your routine

You don’t have to leave everything. All you need to do is to make room for something else as well with minor adjustments
That will be your way to energies yourself, recharge yourself from time to time, which can create a good sense of balance in your life
For example, if you are passionate about writing, you could simply write a few lines a day to begin with, instead of waiting for a large chunk of free time to be available, which usually does not happen, right?
Two – you could consider learning and practicing what you like, so that you eventually become good at it
The truth is that usually, we are not good at what we really like to do. And we have never spent time and energy to learn and become good at it!
For example, you may be passionate about dancing, but you may not be a good dancer as such
So you could approach it from a learner's mindset – again, instead of waiting for enough free time to be available, you could start by the smallest step possible and make it a routine
And in case you are not truly passionate about anything in particular, that’s perfectly fine as well
Simply replace the word "passion" with "enjoyment"

Think about something you enjoy. Then think about how you can start creating more time for that activity
Again, the idea is to consciously make it part of your regular life, starting small to begin with
One final thought….
Passion at workplace should be seen with the same lens, thought the context is very different
Most jobs in the long run end up being routine and mundane, irrespective of function or industry
Passion at workplace is also about doing things which energize and excite you in relation to the working environment
Again, the idea is to create a sense of balance and devote atleast some time for that activity in your daily, weekly or monthly schedule
The nature of your job will not change per se, but you will create opportunities to recharge yourself from time to time
For example, when I was in corporate, I realized that I am very passionate about training

So I would reach out to the L&D team and seek opportunities to partner with them to train new joiners 

I would do floor talks with different teams about new and emerging financial topics
Similarly, you could be passionate about something else at work – diversity or community service and so on....

And don't forget that in a corporate environment, it also helps build your profile as your stakeholders are able to see a part of your personality which is not directly work-related
That's it from my side

So here are some parting thoughts for you to mull over the weekend:
1) Passion is not necessarily about leaving everything. Passion is about embracing balance
2) Think of one thing you are truly passionate about in your personal life
3) Think about how you can start carving more time to that pursuit on a regular basis – start small, but start with something you can commit to
4) If you always wanted to learn something, now is the time to make it happen – think about the first step to take in that direction
5) Now switch gears. Think about something you enjoy at work
6) Now think on how you can create more opportunities at workplace to be engaged in that activity