When You Shouldn’t Do What You Love

IS IT TIME TO KILL YOUR DARLINGS?

Browse any self-help website or blog these days and you’re bound to find the advice to do what you love. I’m even guilty of it, myself.

And while this is generally a great place to start, there comes a time where we need to step back and reevaluate if doing what we love is getting us the results we initially desired.

Let’s rewind for a second…

In a time where we are able to do almost anything we want and be paid good money for it, so many of us have become paralyzed by too many options.

In a world where we can do anything, we want to do everything.

This results in overwhelm and confusion, which leads to the question of “how do I find my purpose?”

When this becomes the subject matter of your mind, I recommend focusing on these 3 questions:

1. What do I enjoy doing when I’m not thinking about making money?
2. What feels easy to me? What am I good at?
3. What do people need? What would they pay for?

Once we can combine these three answers, we’re in the right ballpark.

However, the mistake most people make is stopping right there. See, this is supposed to be an ongoing process.

A better solution is to find something that satisfies those three criteria, define a clear desired outcome for what you want to achieve, and then giving it a trial period. I suggest 90 days.

Finally, and here’s the big one, we need to have the courage to return to the brainstorming process if we’re not getting the result we initially desired, even if we’re enjoying the work we’re currently doing.

Remember, doing work you enjoy and that you’re good at is not a purpose, it’s a hobby.