The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself.
Over the past few years, many have decided to re-evaluate how their work fits into their lives. For some, discovering what drives them will be one of the most challenging and transformative experiences they face. One part is the importance of finding passion in their discipline. There will come a time when you need to sit down with yourself and decide what/where you derive passion.
Having a purposeful job that you’re proud of can determine your quality and productivity of work, but it should align with your values. You are never going to be happy being something that you are not.
I will share four key points that helped me and will help develop the foundation for setting you on the right path to finding purpose in your work:
Create a vision statement.
Identifying long-term and short-term goals can be instrumental in your professional development. Developing a vision statement for yourself can be as easy as grabbing a notebook and writing down where you are now and where you want to be in five years. The tricky part is the gap in between. I have found that creating a timeline with milestones provides a clear, linear path to follow. It gives you a set vision and can provide your employer with an approach to help guide your professional development.
Seek guidance from a mentor.
One of the defining moments in my professional career was approaching my design lead at the time with a request to guide me in my professional development through mentorship. Having a mentor to teach, advise, motivate, and guide you to address problem areas in your work is critical. By recognizing where your weaknesses and strengths lie, you can work as a team to help amplify your areas of expertise and address issues in your work. In becoming a mentee, you have someone who will boost your development and help you achieve your professional goals.
Be transparent with yourself (and others).
Transparency is paramount in your path of professional development. For many, staying transparent with themselves can be equally as challenging as being transparent with others. Becoming transparent on a personal level demonstrates self-acceptance and maturity. Being honest with yourself can drastically impact your ability to embrace your strengths while identifying your weaknesses. When you become more honest with yourself, you begin to increase your sense of personal accountability. It takes little effort to express your honest thoughts to others, but the impact of doing so can go a long way. Authenticity is critical in a professional setting, and it shows that you genuinely care about the work that you are doing. Transparency and Authenticity are the foundation for healthy, respectful relationships.
Ask yourself why.
Ask yourself why you go to work every day, what aspect of your work is the most important to you? Do you feel like what you are doing brings value to others? At Narratives, much of our work involves travelling to Indigenous communities across Canada and capturing the knowledge and wisdom of Elders and community members through a camera lens. Uplifting people and amplifying the voice of communities has been a core component of our work and is an aspect I deeply value and am passionate about. Keeping those values in mind helps me stay focused on the day-to-day aspects of my work.
Keeping these points in mind when setting out on your path to finding purpose and passion in your work will provide you with a solid foundation for developing yourself professionally.