Quit The Job You Hate and Find Your Passion

In March 2015 we left behind our full-time working lives and embarked on a more nomadic way of living by hitting the road with just our backpacks, each other, and an Australia Lonely Planet guide...

Work has become temporary and short-term, mainly to fund more travelling as opposed to fulfil any career-based dreams.

If this isn't quite you're reality just yet or you are in the process of planning a more nomadic or simplified lifestyle, you can take yourself nearer to it with a little bit of introspection, to help you carve out a career that you will love, and will love you back!

Keep reading for how to leave behind a career that is sucking your energy and find something better!

Make a Passion Brainstorm

Apparently people call them spider-diagram's these days...but I'm old-fashioned!

• Write down all the things you love, which inspire you and make you feel truly happy and fulfilled... stuff which gets you up and out of bed in the morning, that makes you smile or laugh until you cry.
• Get down some keywords about why these things motivate you.

My list relates to being outside, playing with animals, being my own boss, which all translated well into my previous job as a self-employed dog-walker!

What careers do you NOT want to do?

Its wise to get to the great ideas by eliminating the bad ones first.

• Which careers make you feel depressed at the mere thought of them.
• What jobs have you done in the past that you hated. Write these down.
• Next to them write keywords as to why these jobs made you feel crappy.

The point of this is to establish if there are any common factors of past jobs or undesirable careers which make them unappealing and unsuitable for your personality.

You can then discover what motivates you within the workplace and better understand what path to go down.

What jobs have always inspired you?

As a kid I decided I wanted to be a journalist, which back then meant writing in magazines and newspapers.

I had no understanding of the true nature of journalism and nowadays its an entirely different media landscape anyway.

But still, there was something about writing which inspired me, and today, I have translated that into travel blogging.

• Think back to the jobs or careers which have taken your interest over the years.
• Look at careers that friends and family have.
• Consider whether there are opportunities for beginning your own business or entering self-employment.

Be guided by the purity of your child-like inquisitiveness, it definitely counts for something.

What do you do well in everyday life?

You might enjoy reading and long hot baths, as established by your passion brainstorm, but not all of your hobbies can be translated into a job...

• List your best attributes e.g. are you kind, generous, patient, a good listener?
• Consider any positive praise you've received in previous jobs or education.
• Take note of any skills or competencies you have obtained.
• Are you an organized, time-efficient person? Do you enjoy working at pace on repetitive tasks? Do you need social interaction every day to refresh yourself? Do you prefer freedom over structure?
• Begin to form a picture of what type of work your personality suits, what you need from a job and what will get your best efforts and energy.

Confidence will be key when you do go looking for a job. Knowing what makes you special and individual is so important, in all walks of life.

Now...Mix it all up in a melting-pot of jobby-goodness.

So you've established what you like, what you don't like, what makes you feel good within a job, and you've reminded yourself of your childhood aspirations.

You have taken the time to consider your strengths, weaknesses, as well as personal attributes which would be well-suited to certain careers.

You've learnt a lot more about yourself, which makes it all the more easier to find your dream career path.

The above steps may have either made it clear what you don't want to do, or what you do want.

In the least hopefully it has guided your interest and focus toward a job which will make your life all the more positive, fulfilling and purposeful. Or you might have learned that spending your days doing something which isn't in-line with your heart and soul, is the most time-wasting use of your awesome little life.

Now it's time to research, and learn all you can about what it takes to pursue your shiny new career dreams!

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

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