I really enjoyed this article from the Wall Street Journal (warning: paywall ahead) about getting burned out at work and following your passion.
It gave me a chance to reflect on my own career path that brought me to where I am today. I started with a job at a great company doing work that wasn't my primary passion, and eventually found my way to my dream job. Granted, I was very lucky along the way. Lucky to have had the opportunity to work at such great companies with incredible leaders, for starters.
But the main take-away from the article is to follow your path gradually.
And if you never followed your passion and now want to switch gears, make a gradual change. Research shows that people who quit their jobs cold turkey to follow their passion often fail, Mr. Stulberg says. The pressure to love the new endeavor or make money quickly is too high. “It is really hard to perform well and enjoy your work if you are doing it from a place of pressure,” he says.
This really resonated with me, and is advice I'd give to anyone who finds themselves stuck in a line of work or an a path for which they're looking to escape.
Pursue your interests gradually. Research shows that people who quit their job to follow their passion tend to fail at a higher rate than people who pursue the new endeavor gradually, says Brad Stulberg, author of “The Passion Paradox.” The pressure to love the new activity and make money at it can be too high if you jump all in.
The idea of taking a huge leap into something can be provacative, but can also be dangerous, especially if you have those who depend on your income. But I love that the message here is that it can be done, and can be done in a variety of ways. I can tell you personally how gratifying it is to be doing work for which I have a great deal of passion. I hope others have the opportunity to experience the same.