You won't find passion, motivation, and inspiration at your job.
The truth about "dream jobs" and the difference between passion and inspiration
The Daily Drip
You won't find passion, motivation, and inspiration at your job.
It turns out that it's really hard to find all three things in one place.
In fact, constantly seeking things like inspiration in any place can be--uninspiring.
For many years, I was miserable trying to turn passions into work. It was a good idea, though, right?
We hear about so many people who have their "dream job" and say things like "I've never worked a day in my life."
I choose to believe that this is only part of the truth. Of course, they're well-intentioned, trying to encourage others to chase their dreams--but it ends up creating this impossible standard that most of us will never have the opportunity to reach.
The truth is that there are good days and bad days. There are days that feel like fun and there are days that feel like work. I think the trick is just paying attention to those days and how many are on each side. The game is leaning the balance in our favor so that the time we spend doing work we don't like is fueled by the fulfilling work that gives us energy.
A passion isn't a passion unless it gives us motivation, which is the desire to act. Inspiration is a fleeting idea that occurs to us, it has nothing to do with the effort we put in.
Inspiration says "I want to do that someday."
Passion says "I need to act now so that I can do that."
Let’s look at another example.
Inspiration says "Let me sleep on it."
Passion says "I can't sleep because I can't not do this."
The key factor to pay attention to is whether or not the feeling you have is making you act.
Passion helps provide motivation. Inspiration helps provide ideas.
You just can't count on your day job to fulfill all of your needs. Paying attention to the other things in your life that fill the gaps will help you stay passionate, motivated, and inspired.