Passion vs. Career: When Your Hobby Should Stay a Hobby?
How do you know that your hobby can be a promising career?
We are in constant debate about what we are going to do for the rest of our lives and what would be the best choice, passion, or career.
If you are in this phase of life, this article is here to help you to choose between the two.
A little disclaimer that these are not tips that you must follow. They’re more like a guide for you to question your choices and find the best answer for them.
Understand Yourself
Before making the biggest decision of your life, you should always identify your values and purposes first.
By doing so, you are able to understand yourself and meet the beliefs and motivations you need to step up before diving into a serious and life-changing decision.
Define your value as the foundation of your purpose.
You can start by looking through what matters the most to you. Is it a stable income, or is it to enjoy what you love?
Simon Sinek, in his book, Find Your Why, captures this journey by telling that every individual has a purpose and discovery is the process.
Sinek describes purpose as something that is long-term and the essence that drives our actions, decisions, and aspirations in our whole lives.
Lead Learn Leap created a 7-minute summary of this book that can guide you in finding your purposes and ultimately understanding yourself.
Make a Pro-Cons List
An old-school but effective way to make big decisions is a pro-cons list.
Try listing out the benefits and downfalls you gain from choosing to pursue your career or decide to turn your hobby into your career.
When you choose your hobby as a career, there might be a chance for you to sacrifice your free time and you wouldn’t even enjoy that activity anymore as you have to be GOOD at it and BE PROFESSIONAL about it.
Here is an example:
Choosing Career
- Pros: Stable income, job security, and work-life balance.
- Cons: Emotional burnout and slow progress to climb the ladder.
Choosing Hobby
- Pros: Passionate about the work, flexible schedule, and highly skilled.
- Cons: Instability, sacrificing free time, and no escape from burnout.
Find Your True Calling
However, in the end, the most important aspect to consider in this journey is self-discovery.
You can try jumping into jobs, positions, and hobbies and see which one sparks the most joy for you.
This helps you determine your true calling, which matches your interests and abilities. Moreover, you can be more passionate about what you do.
For example, you are a marketing major who has a hobby in music.
You can try to pursue your hobby by creating YouTube videos or doing small gigs.
If you feel that your hobby is moving too slowly, you can try to be a marketer at a label company.
That way, you can still stay close to your hobby while also pursuing your career.
Jumping through changes throughout your life is completely normal; many people go through it, too.
Just remember that it is never too late to pursue something you are passionate about.
There is never an “on-time”, but it is “right-time”.
Final thoughts? Well, it is undeniable that purpose is your biggest drive in being motivated, but passion is also important to keep that motivation going strong.
Therefore, the journey to choose between passion and career is indeed a long one, and it is up to you to discover your true calling.
Try to always be careful and prioritize yourself first when making crucial decisions.
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