One of the most important things you can do is get clear on what your dream is. I mean feel it, see it and love it.
In the Doing what you love for a living series, we’ll look at whether you need to be doing what you love for a living, how to get through the transition of figuring out what you would love to do with financial ease, speaking up about what your dreams are, and then in Part 2 we’ll craft how you can create a job that you would love at the company of your dreams.
Sometimes we can get stuck because we believe that in order to be doing what we love, it needs to be tied to a job and our source of income. Doing what you love doesn’t need to mean doing what you love for a living, unless that feels right for you and is part of your big dream.
If doing what you love means traveling for example, you can make that happen while earning an income at somewhere that adds joy to your life, while supporting your travels outside of work. The key part is that it adds joy to your life, so that you feel like it is supporting you in doing what you love, rather than taking you away from doing what you love.
Often we think that we need to stay in a job that we dislike, in order to have freedom to be doing something that we love. If what you love to do has no connection to doing something for a living, why not give yourself permission to have a job that you are happy in; Something that allows you to be joyful in the time that you’re there, rather than making your space for income a total grind? Then you would not only feel at peace within your job, but that bliss would continue to flow into the thing that you love doing. The transition would be smoother and more filled with joy. You wouldn’t resent one or feel that your freedom is being taken away, but rather that it’s supporting you by allowing you to go out and do what you love to do.
What would you love to be doing in this moment?
When I first graduated and moved to Australia, I was trying to do a million things at once. I was trying to find out what my career path would be, while traveling in a new country and ensuring that I had enough money. Oh, and I wanted to absolutely love everything that I was doing.
The first week I arrived, I got a job at a marketing agency. It seemed like it was a place where I could learn, and was definitely somewhere that could lead me down a career path that I was potentially interested in.
I didn’t take it.
It didn’t feel right because it wasn’t aligned with what I would love to be doing in that moment.
I focused in on what I actually would love to be doing; what was calling me and what made me feel excited, it was adventuring. Being clear on what I would love to be doing the most in that moment, enabled me to let go of the need to find the perfect job right there and then, or something that I thought would lead to a path for the future career that I wasn’t even sure I wanted. I then found a job that allowed me to do what I love to be doing, adventuring, while still working somewhere that I enjoyed being at. My vibes were high almost every day, I played music that lit me up and I got to sell a product that I enjoyed selling. Was this my highest purpose and job that I knew would sponsor me to live in Australia? No. Was I happy and putting off powerful positive vibes? Heck ya. I later attracted something that allowed me to create a career path that sponsored me to live and work in Australia, but we’ll get in full on creating a job-mode in part 2.
Sometimes we make it harder on ourselves than we need to. While you’re trying to figure out what you would love to be doing, whether that’s in relation to a job or not, remind yourself that you don’t need to make it all happen at once. Wouldn’t you rather be earning money, and ultimately giving yourself freedom, at a job that you enjoy being at? Especially if you’re unsure of what career path you would love to go down.
Sometimes we pick out those hard, stressful jobs because they might seem aligned with what we want to do in the future, even though we’re definitely not digging it, nor do we know what we want to do in the future. We’re trying to figure out what we want to be doing, while going through the day-to-day of resistance.
Would you rather be soul searching somewhere that you feel mediocre at or somewhere that you feel joyful at?
When you’re still figuring out what path you want to go down, you can make the path a lot smoother by earning an income doing something doing. You want to pick somewhere where your vibes are high and you have space to think creatively.
What type of job is the most beneficial while figuring out what you want to be doing?
A job where you feel completely yourself.
When you’re going out in the world and feeling out what you would love to be doing, the best space to be in is in alignment with who you really are. Whether that’s by doing something that you enjoy doing, or being surrounded with people that you are yourself with, this all adds to your path of finding something that you not only love doing, but feels like your calling.
What if you know it and feel it, with everything you’ve got, that your purpose is to be doing what you love for a living?
“ I could never make money doing what I love.”
That phrase is often tied with the big question, “What would I love to do”?
… and I mean really love to do; no limits, only big-dreaming kind of stuff. I’m talking about being as open to endless possibilities as you were as a kid when you told your teacher, with confidence, what you were going to be when you grow up. You never allowed your mind to wander and tell you that you wouldn’t be able to make enough money or that what you wanted wasn’t a possibility, you just announced it; claimed it.
Often times we cut ourselves off when thinking up our big, heart-filled dreams because we look at them and say, “There isn’t a job where I could do that,” or “I will do that one day, but not right now.” I will let you in on a little secret, there are more jobs and creative possibilities out there than you could ever imagine. Whether it’s a job existing in your city, abroad or something that you are going to be creating yourself, doing what you love is as much of a possibility as anything.
When dreaming up our big ideas, it’s important to let these limitations go, to allow ourselves to be as open as possible, with positive creativity surrounding our dreams. Because you might have forgotten how to declare what you would actually love to be doing, stand up and speak your truth. If your big dreams have been pushed down so much because of your beliefs about them not being able to be a reality, or not a reality right now, ask yourself these questions:
1. What am I drawn towards?
2. What am I doing when I have that beaming smile that shines from the inside out?
3. Where do I feel the most natural?
4. When do I feel the most ‘me’?
Share your answers and big dreams in the comments below!
We’ll be chatting about how to create a job that is designed just for you and your heart-filled skills in part 2.
