Importance of following your passion

I had a discussion today with my friend and colleague from work about the importance of following your passion and doing what you love for living. Should you follow your passion or maybe continue safely doing what you do, even if you don’t enjoy it? I will tell you my story. According to realsociology your work is 35% of your total waking hours over a 50 year working-life period assuming 8 hours of sleep a night. I think we will all agree that 35% is a big part of your life. Sometimes statistics can speak for itself and this is the case. It’s your time, not work time.

Since I was a kid, I was always spending a lot of time in front of my computer, usually playing online games. When I finished high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, so I decided to study economy and tourism just because most of my friends were already studying there. When my college started, I had to find a student job to keep up with my rent and living costs, so I ended up working as a call agent. One day, after two years of college, I woke up upset with a big thought bothering me in my head, questioning myself what should I do with my life. I was still playing games from six to more hours per day, and did not attend most of my lectures, while still trying to pass my exams, which I did. I started to feel more and more unhappy with my life as I realized I have to change something quickly. I wasn’t completely sure what it is exactly that needed to be changed.

That morning I was trying my best to figure out what should I do. I remember talking to my girlfriend rapidly while being overexcited, trying to get some advices from her. I even went online and did all the job quizzes that I could find that were trying to help you find what you should be doing. Not surprisingly, results of all the quizzes had one thing in common – computer. After an hour or two going crazy around the house with my girlfriend looking at me a little concerned, I came to a conclusion that it has to be something with computer and technology involved. The more I was thinking about it, more excited I was becoming. My life already started to change, without me even realizing.

Decision was made – I will start by getting into web design and development! I went straight on to amazon, ordered few books and started going through online tutorials the very same day. That day changed my life completely. However, I had to manage to find an extra time with part-time student job (which I had to keep to pay my rent and living costs) and college going on at the same time. To be completely honest, it wasn’t an big issue for me, I didn’t care. I simply started to sleep less, and tried my best to find every extra minute possible to do what I love. Only six months later, I landed my first job. It was really easy for me to get the job, because I was so passionate and excited about it on the interview, that other candidates looked like bunch of amateurs. I had no work experience whatsoever, but I had what other candidates lacked – gleam in my eyes just talking about work.

Even if you don’t have the ability to do it right now this very second, start by directing your mind and energy in that direction by doing little changes here and there to actually start moving towards your goal. Go from thinking about obstacles towards finding a ways to sneak that extra time you will need to start moving. At the end, if it’s your passion, you will be motivated enough to do what seems impossible at first. If you think it’s impossible, you just made it so. Usually, your biggest obstacle is you. And by any means, I am not saying that you should drop your current job and follow your heart blindly. You need to think about it, and come up with a plan. My decision back then was to keep my current student job and finish my college while giving a shot to make a living out of web design and development career.

If you are one of those who are struggling whether to pursue your passion, my advice would be to go for it and to find a way. There’s always a way.ng here...