Turning Habits Into A Career

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Careers are one of those things we spend years of our life planning and stressing about. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a common question when we’re young, then we go to school to “figure it out.” But for a lot of us, we end up falling into a career that we often didn’t see coming, or even necessarily want. It’s hard to see outside of that role, though, and to figure out what we’d rather be doing, or would make us happy doing daily.

But instead of trying to figure out how to live up to the saying “find a job that you love” or something clichey, I like the idea of turning habits into careers. Trying to figure out the perfect job can be totally overwhelming and make people feel bad about themselves—because it’s hard to know what you want to be for life! It makes more sense, to me, to find out what you like to do in your spare time, then see how a career can come from that, not the opposite. It doesn’t have to be some fancy hobby either. Something as simple as “sports” can turn into a sports blog in your free time, then maybe a full-time role down the road at ESPN or the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc.

If you’re stuck in a career that you don’t absolutely love—or aren’t sure what you want to be, I think you should do something about it. And I hope I don’t sound like some know-it-all trying to make you feel bad about yourself if you don’t love your career—because that’s the last thing I want. I simply think it’s important to find the pockets of happiness in your day, and turn that into a career, or even a side job. It doesn’t have to be some big change; think about small steps that might turn your hobbies into a career.

Obsessed with baking? Create a baking account and start Instagramming your work. If you’re into writing, start blogging or freelancing. If you love animals, volunteer at a shelter. If you want to be a comedian, go try a few stand up gigs. You never know what can turn into a job, or what can inspire you to create a new career.

If you’ve turned hobbies into a career you love, I’d love to hear about it! If not, what are your hobbies?

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16 comments

  1. Hi I’m so glad I read this. I have been struggling for 10 years trying to see where I want to work and if coming back to college to stay and get my degree is worth it. I’m twenty-five years old living on a college campus. Sometimes I just want to pack my stuff and move far away and just work. 😥😥😥

  2. This response is for Ashley above — don’t give up! I didn’t find what I wanted to do until about 30 (teacher) so don’t stress, you’re still so young, and believe me you have forever to work! Enjoy the student life, even if it’s hard to see right now. You have lots of time to figure it all out 🙂

    Dont run away. Doesn’t solve much!
    Xoxo

  3. I was so unhappy with my previous job that I was on the verge of quitting every morning. Of course with student loans and looming car payments, that wasn’t a reality for me. I’ve been blogging for many years and it wasn’t until about 2 years ago that I decided to turn it into a career for myself (instead of a sometime hobby). It isn’t any where near the level of a career yet but “nothing great is achieved without pain a labor”. Thank you for writing this post. 🙂

  4. I have a great hobby in Fashion illustration and art generally. Still unemployed after graduation 2 years ago and every day I keep looking for ways to turn my skill into a career. It hasn’t been easy especially with limited resources, but I won’t stop walking the mile. Lovely article and Wao! Boots.

  5. Hi, I’m gonna keep myself anonymous to lessen risk of my employers finding this.

    Ever since I turned 23 I’ve come to an epiphany that I want to blog full time. I believe I have the skill, the wit, the heart, and the passion to blog. I just really love doing it. Even when my blog is only 3 months old, I managed to achieve a lot, small time. I got invited to my first event, had 50 likes on my Facebook page as I write this, and I saw other people sharing my blog entries on their Facebook profiles. It feels so good.

  6. Such a nice message that is so true! I fell into a career of being an insurance agent and had to get out of it by the time I reached my 30s. Now, I am living in Hawai’i and blogging about my aloha experience, since I have always wanted to write and travel the world. As scary as it was, you just got to go for what you want! Bigger the risk, bigger the reward.

    Thanks for the positive message xoxo

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