Finding your career passion sounds fairly easy: you just do what you love and what you’re good at, and that’s pretty much it. But reality’s quite different today. Many people, if not the majority, don’t know what they want to do in life, they simply follow someone’s advice or play it safe by choosing a high-paying profession, and often end up hating their jobs, hence their lives. Plus, there are so many possibilities now that sometimes it feels almost impossible to pick only one path, as each of them sounds tempting.

It takes a lot of self-analysis to find out what brings you joy in life. There are a few questions that I believe can put you on the right track and help you understand yourself, your desires and preferences much better. And that might be the perfect first step in this long journey.

“What did I want to become as a child?”

This is the easiest question that may help understand what you initially liked before getting influenced by others. Sure, you might have had some weird and naive dreams that shouldn’t be considered, like becoming a king or a wizard. Apart from those childish desires, most people have natural predisposition for some activities since early childhood. Some have a thing for art, the others love maths or science. But their love often gets killed by parents or other adults who persuade their kids that it’s not a good or profitable profession and they need to find something more serious. And many give up on their dreams and sometimes even forget about them later in life. Remembering those preferences can actually become the perfect guide, as it will remind you of your true identity.

“What would I do for free?”

Imagine you’re a millionaire and don’t need to work for money. Would you still be doing what you’re doing now? I’m pretty sure the majority will answer negatively, and that’s honestly sad, because it means that they work only and only for money’s sake. I understand, that’s the primary goal of working – to make a living, but still, jobs take a big part of our lives and not doing what you like the slightest feels like torturing yourself voluntarily, doesn’t it? At the same time I know that there are people who won’t ever quit their jobs even if they weren’t paid or were paid very little simply because it’s something they’re truly passionate about. There are teachers, who love working with children despite a low salary, there are artists who don’t earn money for years but still don’t give up on their dream.

I can bring my own example here. Before becoming a journalist, I was working as a translator for a short while, and I did some free translations as well for practice, but I certainly didn’t enjoy it and was constantly complaining not getting paid for all my effort. But when I had some unpaid or minimal paid journalism internships, I didn’t protest a bit because I truly loved what I was doing. And I know that if I were a millionaire, I’d still want to write because it’s what brings me true joy.

“Would I do the same job in a small and less known company?”

This is quite a common mistake people make. They want to become, for instance, a fashion designer at Chanel, or an IT specialist at Microsoft without even realizing that they actually dream about not the profession itself, but the famous company they may or may not work for. It will feed their egos in a way, because if they work at a prestigious company, it kinda makes them prestigious themselves. So, it’s important to ask yourself, would you still want to do the same job somewhere else? Would you like to become a designer not at Chanel but at a local small fashion brand? Again, I’m pretty sure not everyone will answer positively here.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with having some ambitions or wanting to climb the corporate ladder. It’ okay to want to work at a more successful place, it’s a great motivation to become a better specialist. My point is not to focus merely on the company. Because you may never get that job at Chanel or Microsoft, and you’ll just end up doing something you hate for the rest of your life.

“Would I do it if no one knew about it?”

Sometimes people choose a respectable job because of the social image it represents, so they can brag about it. Like when you say you’re a doctor or a lawyer, everyone around automatically treats you with respects without even properly knowing you. I’m sure you’ve heard someone say “I don’t really know him, but he’s a lawyer, ergo, he is a decent man”. The job title often brings people honor and appreciation. But imagine no one knew what you work as. Would you still want to do it? Would you become a lawyer if you couldn’t show it off? Or if it weren’t considered a prestigious profession, again, would you want it?

“Would you do it if the other person didn’t?”

These last questions are a little similar and interrelated, but it’s important to focus on each angle as that’s how you understand whether your choice is somehow influenced by others or not.

In many cases, people choose a profession based on someone else. For example, a child decides to become a doctor, because his parents are doctors. Or to become an actor because he is a fan of Brad Pitt and wants to become just like him. Sometimes your close people suggest a great profession by bringing an example that someone named Adam Smith is an accountant, and he’s earning a lot of money. So, if you become an accountant, you’ll succeed as well. Or perhaps you’re simply jealous of someone else’s success and want to copy that. The situations are different, but the core issue is the same – you choose a job based not on your preferences but because of a different person. So, the question to ask is, would I want that job if it weren’t for other people? Would I become a doctor if my parents were bakers? Would I become an actor if I didn’t see any of Brad Pitt’s movies? Or become an accountant if I didn’t know about Adam Smith’s success?

“Would the past you be proud with the present you?”

Imagine you find a time machine and go back to the past and meet the child or teenage you. What do you think, would the past you be proud of the present you? With the choices you made, with the career path you chose? Would the past you think you’re cool and would the be inspired and motivated by you and your life? If the answer’s positive, congrats, you’re on the right track. If not, there’s definitely some things to think about. It means somewhere along the way you chose the wrong direction and maybe even got lost. Try to imagine what exactly the past you would be disappointed in. That’s your answer, that’s what you should do differently.

The most important thing here is to answer 100% honestly, because otherwise the only person you’d be lying to is yourself. And that’s not the goal of self-analysis. The goal is to understand yourself better and perhaps find that one thing you’re enthusiastic about, the job that will make you happy. So you wouldn’t spend your whole life dreading Mondays and only enjoying those two days of the week or one vacation month a year.