Finding your purpose / passion / goals

Shicky

Shicky

Shicky

Associate
Joined
13 Jan 2007
Posts
2,424
Location
Belfast,Northern Ireland
Hello all,

As a result of having the past two weeks off work, I've found myself with to much time to think and consequently have become extremely frustrated. My current field of work is definitely not what I want to do and I've put a lot of energy the last few months into trying to find out what the path is for me. As above, this has just wound up with me being frustrated, agitated and annoyed that I cannot figure out where my next step should be.

Has anybody put significant amounts of time into finding their purpose / passion? If so was it successful and how did you do it?

I've pretty much succeeded in everything I've set my mind to in recent years and I believe when I have a clear goal in my head, I am very focused and keep working towards that goal. However, I achieved my previous goals and when I look at where I am, I just know it's not where I want to be. The problem is, I don't know where I want to be or where I should be and I'm having trouble identifying goals to strive for. Does anybody have any worthwhile advice for finding the goals / purpose / passion I should be working toward?
 
IT support, covering pretty much L1 to a little of L3, in the finance sector. Haven't got too much love for it and the obvious progression is to development which I do not feel is for me.

The problem is and has always been, finding what is for me. I've put a lot of thought, work and spare time into it (reading etc) and just cannot figure out what the hell I am meant to do
 
Shicky said:
Hello all,

As a result of having the past two weeks off work, I've found myself with to much time to think and consequently have become extremely frustrated. My current field of work is definitely not what I want to do and I've put a lot of energy the last few months into trying to find out what the path is for me. As above, this has just wound up with me being frustrated, agitated and annoyed that I cannot figure out where my next step should be.

Has anybody put significant amounts of time into finding their purpose / passion? If so was it successful and how did you do it?

I've pretty much succeeded in everything I've set my mind to in recent years and I believe when I have a clear goal in my head, I am very focused and keep working towards that goal. However, I achieved my previous goals and when I look at where I am, I just know it's not where I want to be. The problem is, I don't know where I want to be or where I should be and I'm having trouble identifying goals to strive for. Does anybody have any worthwhile advice for finding the goals / purpose / passion I should be working toward?
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I thought about what I enjoyed the most, and then endeavoured to do that.

In my case it was produce music, and that all came from hearing a track by drumsound&basslinesmith on the radio,

What hobbies do you have?
 
Shayper said:
I thought about what I enjoyed the most, and then endeavoured to do that.

In my case it was produce music, and that all came from hearing a track by drumsound&basslinesmith on the radio,

What hobbies do you have?
Click to expand...

I think part of his initial question is, though... are you actually making a living off of that now? Paying the mortgage and keeping food on the table?

Similar to the OP, I've just about had enough of IT now and want to pursue my passions... writing and filmmaking.

I fell into IT as a necessity when we moved to England and bills needed to be paid immediately. Since then... well, I'm just taking the money and not feeling satisfied. So, we had a talk and potentially next year if our finances are together enough I'll be moving to a part time job doing something (maybe contracting) and using the rest of the time to pursue my dreams and see what happens.

Would be great if it happens... but I'm a realist/pessimist (pick whichever you like) and don't think it'll ever come to fruition, but let's see.
 
I can relate to this in a way OP. I have been an Electrician for nearly 8 years now and to a degree I enjoy it but I can't help but think that I want to do something else.

Perhaps it's the fact that in an ever growing industry where speed and productivity take presidence over quality, I often wonder if the job suits me at all!

The point I am making is that you have to look deep within yourself and ask what it is you aspire to be. What do you enjoy doing?
 
Shicky said:
Hello all,

As a result of having the past two weeks off work, I've found myself with to much time to think and consequently have become extremely frustrated. My current field of work is definitely not what I want to do and I've put a lot of energy the last few months into trying to find out what the path is for me. As above, this has just wound up with me being frustrated, agitated and annoyed that I cannot figure out where my next step should be.

Has anybody put significant amounts of time into finding their purpose / passion? If so was it successful and how did you do it?

I've pretty much succeeded in everything I've set my mind to in recent years and I believe when I have a clear goal in my head, I am very focused and keep working towards that goal. However, I achieved my previous goals and when I look at where I am, I just know it's not where I want to be. The problem is, I don't know where I want to be or where I should be and I'm having trouble identifying goals to strive for. Does anybody have any worthwhile advice for finding the goals / purpose / passion I should be working toward?
Click to expand...
Hi chap, the turning point for me was very similar to yours.

I Absolutely got fed up with crap, unfulfilling jobs and it felt that my life was going nowhere.

I think it was made worse at the time as I was reading lots of Nietzsche and realising that I was not reaching for the ubermensch, I was living in more of a state of stagnation.

I enjoyed web development and programming as a hobby but felt that I was reaching my limits of being self taught. Knowing that I enjoyed something I decided that this was really what I should be doing with my time.

I am now doing a degree in Computing an IT, i'm still working a crap job, however there's light at the end of the tunnel and everyday I am getting closer to my end goal.

I think you need to ask yourself what makes you happy and explore these ideas. Get a pad of paper out and start scribbling some thoughts down. :)
 
sparky05084 said:
I can relate to this in a way OP. I have been an Electrician for nearly 8 years now and to a degree I enjoy it but I can't help but think that I want to do something else.

Perhaps it's the fact that in an ever growing industry where speed and productivity take presidence over quality, I often wonder if the job suits me at all!

The point I am making is that you have to look deep within yourself and ask what it is you aspire to be. What do you enjoy doing?
Click to expand...

I can relate to both the OP's and your post Sparky - unfortunately it seems to me that the majority of occupations regardless what field you're working in is now so driven to the point that productivity far outweighs not only quality but sometimes health and safety (especially in my job) that sometimes it seems like there's no point in even trying. Everything is so statistically driven, I also quite enjoy my job and I'll always try and give 100% in any task I'm given but I've now got to the stage that if that isn't enough then just sack me because I'm not killing myself for any company. If anything this change in attitude for me has made me realise just how much I appreciate my time off and the ability to spend it with my family.

Who ever said work to live don't live to work was quite right in my view. Moving this post back on topic I'd suggest the OP perhaps decides what makes him happy? What does he enjoy doing? and follow that path. . . . .
 
Thanks for the responses, glad to know at the very least I'm not in the boat alone! I'm 25 and have no attachments other than the missus so I'm basically free to do whatever I want, which is a privileged position.

I've done a lot of scribbling etc but unfortunately I've found this makes things worse as it gives ideas without anything ever standing out to me. One big problem with IT is that the field is so damn vast, I don't even know what all the opportunities are within the field.

In terms of interests I'd say mainly health and fitness. I think PT / Strength coach is unrealistic as I never even studied PE and I'm far from sculpted myself. I don't think I'd do anything ground breaking so don't think this fits. Nutrition I'm pretty interest in and my knowledge here is pretty good but have no science a levels even and again unlikely to do anything ground breaking. I have recently been getting a long term hip problem sorted after 5years of just getting on with it, I've seen many top physio's who always seemed to advise surgery, my latest physio is the only person I've felt I've gotten anywhere with. With a complex injury history I think it would be cool to help others in this regard but again my past isn't geared towards this kind of career and its a difficult field to get into. Web development I used to really enjoy but with real life work I've found myself with no time to keep up to date so don't even know where to start these days. Hoping to find some time to dip my toes in the near future.

As you can see, lots of half assed ideas, nothing extremely clear to me anyway. I wish there was a book I could read or something to just work out what I'd be best at. I think the problem is that really I feel I can do anything and do it well but finding that thing I LOVE to do and would do for mere pennies is proving difficult..
 
Pestilence said:
I think part of his initial question is, though... are you actually making a living off of that now? Paying the mortgage and keeping food on the table?

Similar to the OP, I've just about had enough of IT now and want to pursue my passions... writing and filmmaking.

I fell into IT as a necessity when we moved to England and bills needed to be paid immediately. Since then... well, I'm just taking the money and not feeling satisfied. So, we had a talk and potentially next year if our finances are together enough I'll be moving to a part time job doing something (maybe contracting) and using the rest of the time to pursue my dreams and see what happens.

Would be great if it happens... but I'm a realist/pessimist (pick whichever you like) and don't think it'll ever come to fruition, but let's see.
Click to expand...

Really hope your plans work out mate, the great thing is you've identified your passions and can work towards them. Just make sure you don't lose sight of them!
 
Shicky said:
I think the problem is that really I feel I can do anything and do it well but finding that thing I LOVE to do and would do for mere pennies is proving difficult..
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Look at the Open University, I believe they now offer tradition style study loans.

Heck if anything it would give you some insight in possible subjects you are interested in.
 
Shicky said:
Hello all,

As a result of having the past two weeks off work, I've found myself with to much time to think and consequently have become extremely frustrated. My current field of work is definitely not what I want to do and I've put a lot of energy the last few months into trying to find out what the path is for me. As above, this has just wound up with me being frustrated, agitated and annoyed that I cannot figure out where my next step should be.

Has anybody put significant amounts of time into finding their purpose / passion? If so was it successful and how did you do it?

I've pretty much succeeded in everything I've set my mind to in recent years and I believe when I have a clear goal in my head, I am very focused and keep working towards that goal. However, I achieved my previous goals and when I look at where I am, I just know it's not where I want to be. The problem is, I don't know where I want to be or where I should be and I'm having trouble identifying goals to strive for. Does anybody have any worthwhile advice for finding the goals / purpose / passion I should be working toward?
Click to expand...

I'm in almost the exact same boat as you. 25, in a job that I hate, not a career that I want to follow for the rest of my life.

I love snowboarding and I'm thinking of dropping everything and doing a season for the first time next year with my girlfriend. We'd have seasonal jobs whilst we were there to tide us over but what happens when you get home in April with nowhere to live and no job?! :(
Move back in with parents? Surely not...

I'd like to be a firefighter, but you've got more chance of winning the Euromillions than getting an application pack for a vacancy. :rolleyes:

I don't know what to do. I feel like my life is running away from me and before I know it I'll be 30 and still in the exact same position.
 
I'm in a similar position to the OP although changing career is a little difficult in my current circumstances. But I've found over the years that I want to help others in sine way. So at work (also IT) I always volunteer for stuff that lets me do that. For example today I am doing graduate interviews as I feel that helps others get onto the job ladder. I would love to do something in health care now too. It just came to me gradually over the years as I realised which parts of my job I loved and which I hated.


** If any graduate on here is having an interview for IT today with a large bank then I just might be one of your interviewers. I will look out for the OcUK handshake :)
 
I completely identify, OP. I'm looking to start my "real career" asap (I'm nearly 27), but I haven't the foggiest idea what I actually want to do or I'd be trying to do it!

I know my hobbies won't make good jobs (or at least the job would drain the enjoyment) or money, so I've looked at my skills instead. Nothing jumping out there unless I go and finish off my engineering degree (dropped it for sociology). Doesn't help that I'm wearing golden handcuffs at my current dead-end job.

It's tough, but it definitely isn't just you.
 
Devrij said:
I completely identify, OP. I'm looking to start my "real career" asap (I'm nearly 27), but I haven't the foggiest idea what I actually want to do or I'd be trying to do it!

I know my hobbies won't make good jobs (or at least the job would drain the enjoyment) or money, so I've looked at my skills instead. Nothing jumping out there unless I go and finish off my engineering degree (dropped it for sociology). Doesn't help that I'm wearing golden handcuffs at my current dead-end job.

It's tough, but it definitely isn't just you.
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Before you leave advertising do me a massive advert somewhere for £1 (or some cuddling) as a final two-fingers to your old job. You know you want to, ya big lug!
 
work isnt all about passion.

get into a filed that rewards hard work. im sure you wouldnt consider leaving your field if you was on £60,000 a year.

engineering for example.

may not be "fun" but there's a lot of money init and room to advance.
 
It's not easy.

My passion is music, art & learning - not something which translates into a paying job very easily.

I'm 28 & doing pretty well career wise (despite studying music/art) & while I'm good at what I do - it most certainly isn't my passion.

The downside is that I don't think I could do music or art as a full-time job, they are expressive - as soon as I have to paint I no longer enjoy it, so it's worth considering how you would feel if you HAD to do X activity (while you may find it fun doing it for a few hours a night, how would you feel if you had to do it for 8 hours+ a day?).

Then you have to take into account earnings potential for said role, doing art I have no idea what kind of money I'd be making (could be nothing) - but if I stay in my current field I'll be hitting 50k by the time I'm 30.

So it's a trade off between security & enjoyment sometimes.
 
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