Passion and Purpose

This article is excerpt from Great at Work, the hidden habits of top performers.

In our life, we are trying to seek happiness and fulfillment. We crack our heads and think about how to improve our living conditions. We try to do something we love every day. It sounds easy. However, most of the people are unhappy with their work and they feeling lost in working life. Have you experienced it? It is normal that we feel lost and here are the two keywords that can help you rediscover your working life. Passion and purpose.

         Passion is a good feeling when you are doing something that you love. The purpose is something you want to contribute to society. I believe that every one of us is unique and we have our own strength. We are here to utilize our strength and contribute to the world. For example, I am passionate about science and engineering and I have become an electrical engineer. I like to design an electrical circuit because I am interested to understand how the flow of electrons can create electricity and transfer energy from one form to another. I am feeling satisfied when the electrons are able to flow successfully and transfer energy to the device such as a light bulb and LED. Therefore, every day I am put a lot of effort to design and test the circuit at work.  

        After few months, I feel tired easily after work. I try to find out the reason and finally I know it! The reason is lack of purpose. Therefore, I am trying to seek purpose. I ask myself, what is the purpose of designing a good electrical circuit? I design the circuit because I want to light up the light bulb and shine the society. This is my duty as an engineer and I am ready to change the world and made this world a better place. I feel a strong sense of purpose. I am energized because I have matched my passion with purpose. 

There are two ways to maximize your purpose. The first way to create value at work. The easiest way is to simplify the complicated process of your job scope. You can also try to improve your work productivity and efficiency.  The second way is to craft personal meaning. Your job is able to create value for the company but it may not match with your personal value.At this moment, try to feel about your own work.  It is up to you to determine whether your job is purposeful or not. Only you can understand yourself better.

            I experience a different feeling every day at work. I notice that the secret of feeling good is that match the job with your personal meaning. My meaning of life is to help people and improve their life.  I feel good when I help the people to solve technical problems or I can help my colleague to understand science theory.

In conclusion, passion and purpose are hidden inside our brains. Passion asks, what can the world give me. Purpose asks, how can I give to the world? Try your best to answer it and you will create a life that fills with energy and purpose.