8 Signs You’ve Stumbled on a Passion
Today marks my 50th post since I fired up my blog earlier this year. *high fives screen* To thank you guys for sticking by me for these past few months, I’m giving you, my loyal readers, a real treat – a guest post from award-winning writer Christie O. Tate, also known as The Outlaw Mama.
Christie and I share a common bond: we bravely left the security and prestige of high-profile careers to find our true passion—the kind of happiness known as eudaimonia, or the fulfillment of our God-given purpose and potential in life. It’s the kind of thing that makes us thrive and makes life worth living. It gives us energy and breathes fire into our souls. But how do we know if we’ve found it? That, my dear readers, is what Christie is here to explain. Take it away, my friend!
*****
In my former life, I had a corporate job at a top-tier law firm, and I would have described myself as “happy enough.” It certainly wasn’t hellish all the time, and there were funny, kind and smart people all around. Of course, the benefits were unbelievable—all that money and there was an in-house gym! The only thing I wished for each year on the associate surveys was “free soda.” (God, I am such a big dreamer.)
But somewhere between the demanding hours, mountains of document review and steely clients, I started to feel restless. I asked that question that plagues many: “Is this it?” I always came back to the generous financial benefits of being an attorney, but I couldn’t pretend to be passionate about them or the work. And you know what? The best lawyers are passionate about some part of the practice. Maybe they are passionate about winning cases or making gobs of money or having power in a firm, but the good ones always cared in ways I never could. In my eight years of practice, I couldn’t find a way to bring my creative and most-alive self into the practice of law.
When my two kids came along, I decided that I would step off the law firm track. I was grateful for my beautiful family and my life, but whither my passion? So there I was: 3O-something years old with a Masters, an amazing career as an attorney, and not a clue in hell as to what the next chapter of my career life entailed. Would I go back to corporate law in a few years when my children got older? I certainly still had suitors. Would I strike out on my own? Or would I do something completely irrational and leave my law career behind (along with the thousands of dollars I spent on law school that I was still paying off) to pursue what really lights my fire? Read more
