Benefits Of Pursuing Your Passion Outside Of Work

 

Did you know that engaging in something you are passionate about provides positive outcomes towards your health and happiness? In fact, having multiple interests and passions is even better, as it further boosts the positive effects on your overall well-being, as well as having other added benefits too. When you devote yourself to an activity that brings you joy, you become more creative, more confident, and it provides you with the ability to expand and express your passion in diverse forms.

If you look at those around you, you will notice that all successful leaders and influencers take time out to pursue their passion. Richard Branson plays chess, Warren Buffett plays the ukulele, George Bush has an affinity for painting, Meryl Streep is passionate about knitting, and the list goes on. Why do you think they faithfully devote time for their passions? It’s because a passion serves as a battery recharge, a place to release your worries and concerns, an outlet for stress, and can even help lower your blood pressure.

Studies show that tying work to what you are passionate about can be negative for you in the long-term. When you measure your entire self-worth around your job, you become less resilient to adverse events, such as change, missed deadlines, or negative feedback. It can also make it harder to switch off after working hours and rather difficult to get the respite necessary to regain energy and excitement for the next day. It’s been shown that people accrued far greater benefits when their passions and their actual work were completely different and separated. Here are some of several benefits to be had:

• Pursuing A Passion Is Educational - When you’re really passionate about something, it’s natural to want to learn more about it. There are ample online courses like LinkedIn Learning and Udemy, that allow you to broaden your education and development. Don’t be intimidated, these courses are designed to give you plenty of options to explore what best interests you. 
  
  
• Interests Outside Of Work Helps You To Be Resilient – It goes without saying, that if you put all of your energy, passion, and happiness into your job, you’re leaving yourself open to an array of problems if anything goes wrong. Resilience is an important factor when it comes to dealing with everyday life. It allows us to adapt to changes and to better handle difficult situations. By pursuing a passion outside of work, you give yourself more opportunity to switch off from career issues and to find your peaceful place.
  
  
• Finding A Passion Helps You Develop New Skills - Once you decide to pursue your fervor outside of the workplace, you might be surprised by how many unexpected skills you develop. Transferable skills can be utilized in a variety of situations, including your workplace.
  
  
• Having A Passion Can Make You Future Ready - By pursuing a passion outside of work, you can “future proof” yourself, by ensuring that you are constantly learning, building new skills, developing strong relationships, and that your experience level becomes more broad and flexible.
  
  
• Sharing A Passion Can Be Rewarding Too – Your passion can lead to rewarding volunteering and charitable opportunities. Volunteering opportunities are available throughout several organizations including animal welfare, conservation efforts, community care, supporting education, coaching sports, etc. As well as being good for you and your community, volunteering and charitable work looks great on your resume and can potentially lead to career growth and other opportunities within the workplace.
  
  
• Passion Makes You An Even More Interesting Person – I’m sure you don’t want to be labeled as “boring”, nobody wants to be… Passions like music, travel, books, film, cooking, etc. are great conversation starters and are always of interest.  There’s no doubt that pursuing your passion is important to your self-development and general well-being and if you’re lucky,  you’ll be able to do so through your job. However, it’s also a great idea to make sure you have other hobbies and interests outside of work that will ensure growth and that will keep you motivated and content.

So please, follow your passion and prepare yourself for the exciting things that come with it and always remember that your physical and psychological health is most important to your long-term career success!