How to Discover Your Passion and Purpose

4 min readMar 31, 2022

Confession time: I love what I do as a career and leadership coach! Nothing gets me fired up more than helping women find new, fulfilling careers or fall back in love with the job they already have!

However, I’ve found that many women don’t believe discovering their passion is genuinely possible. That’s why the first step of my Design Your Dream Life program involves assessing my clients’ mindsets.

Just like you can’t grow a healthy garden without tilling and preparing the soil, you can’t build your dream career without healing your mindset and laying a solid foundation. If you’re a midlife professional wondering how to discover your passion and purpose this year, keep reading!

The Pressure of Passion — Do You Have to Love Your Job?

Before I continue, I fully recognize that many people view their jobs as a strictly practical way to support their life responsibilities. The pressure of loving their careers can often feel stressful and even cause resentment.

Do you have to love your job?

No, but you shouldn’t hate it, either. While you may not get to a point where you can’t wait to leap out of bed every Monday morning to go to work (who does!?), it’s entirely possible to incorporate elements of passion into whatever you do. And that matters for increasing your energy and inspiration in all aspects of life!

5 Ways to Tap into Your Passion and Purpose

One main reason discovering your passion feels difficult is that it’s not easy to see things clearly while in a miserable work situation. When you feel stuck and unhappy, it’s hard to see through the fog and identify what you love.

Burnout will kill your ability to develop meaningful solutions to your career problems because you’re just trying to cope. I talk to my clients about turning off the tunnel vision with a few intentional yet straightforward shifts.

1 — Be Your Own Detective

Finding your passion is a process of soul-searching and discovery. Start observing yourself closely. Take note of what you see. For instance:

What book sections do you gravitate toward when visiting bookstores?
What were you doing the last time you lost track of time?
What work tasks come naturally to you and give you energy?

The simple things you take for granted can reveal your deepest interests and provide a foundation to build on.

2 — Ask Yourself this Age-Old Question

What would you do if money were no object?

That might sound cliche, but it’s incredible how many ideas we refuse to entertain, even for a moment, because of financial and other barriers. But what if you remove those fences, permit yourself to dream a little bigger, and gather more materials to discern your passion?

And this is important: don’t merely think about these ideas; write them down! When you force yourself to speak or commit them in writing, you give them life, possibility, movement, and action.

3 — Go Back in Time

Many clients struggle to connect with their passions because they don’t feel creative enough. Did you know the number one enemy of creativity is judgment? We are all creative — some people can physically manifest their creativity through art, writing, music, etc., while others have other genius types.

One of the best ways to connect with your creative gifts is to think about what you did as a kid. What was fun when you were young? Go back in time and expand your thinking from there.

4 — Don’t Overcomplicate It

Discovering your passion doesn’t necessarily mean overhauling your entire career; it’s often just a matter of switching things up. For instance, I have a client in marketing who is looking to change industries but still stay in marketing. She is very much into healthy lifestyle practices (nutrition, supplements, exercise, etc.), so we’re looking into some of the brands she likes and making connections in those areas.

5 — Get Another Perspective

Once you have some ideas, take the time to reflect on them and explore them with others. Talk to friends, family, and the people who know you best to get a fresh and well-rounded perspective. Of course, I also recommend fast-tracking your progress by working with a career coach to explore new opportunities fully.

Turn Off the Tunnel Vision With Expert Midlife Career Guidance

Trust me; I get it — I struggled to discover my passion for years before finding my current path. If you feel stuck and want to learn more about discovering your passion, let me offer you a free career consult. I’ll answer some of your career questions, point you in the right direction, and help you cultivate a game plan to win the career game in the long run!