Introducing my power tool in career coaching: "Passion vs Practicality"

Posted on September 08, 2020 by Solange Corm, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Passion is by simple and by short ”Google” definition: “a strong and barely controllable emotion”. It is a feeling of intense enthusiasm towards something. It is, in most situations, the drive behind actions.
Recognizing and admitting that we have passion for something often leads to efforts to secure “our Dream Job”.
Lets take a step back!:
Since we were kids, most of us were asked by parents the famous question: “What do you want to become when you grow up?” – most of us would answer: “An astronaut, a doctor an actress etc etc… there is no single answer to this question and there is no right or wrong answer to this question.
We are told that if we really believe, and if we really set our mind to something, we can achieve those dreams and turn them into realities since life can present to us endless potential. It is based on our imagination and what we train our mind to believe in, actually our imaginations are free to wander boundlessly. “As children, our future is presented in front of us as an empty canvas” once Elena Kook said in her article debating passion and practicality.
I would say that our answers back then to this question were driven by a dream…the dream to be…we would be inspired or driven by a strong emotion or a passion or simply being emotional at that moment. Something for sure is that when we were kids, we were seeing life and the future from a whole different perspective…away from life challenges, big responsibilities, away from practicality …we were just taken by this dream.
Being a career coach, how many passionate individuals I encounter in my profession? And endless number! How many individuals are happy in their jobs or rather satisfied in their job? The number becomes less. How many individuals would still dream of their dream job where they can be happy and still fulfill their responsibility and be practical in their approach to this dream job concept? …Most of them I would say…
The question is: “Is passion enough to drive your career, enough to have your dream job?”
“what is a dream job?”
As a career coach, I am certain that introducing the notion of balancing passion and practicality is key to any successful career.
Lets go back to” “ what is a dream job?” – when I ask this question to my clients, answers differ from an individual to another. However what is common in all answers is the confusion and the struggle to define this dream job where a lot of underlying beliefs and wrong perceptions starts to surface.
The idea of having a passion for something is empowering. We all want to one day find a career that will have us jumping out of bed in the morning, excited to get to work. The problem is, not too many have a passion for typing away at a computer, working a cubical desk job day in and day out. For many of us, pursuing that dream job comes at a cost. The things we are passionate about, at least in my experience, are not necessarily the most financially fulfilling career paths. They either do not pay well by nature or they involve taking large risks that could either result in great fortune or great financial ruin.
All those are tackled in a deep coaching session to help clients reach a satisfying consent of what is a dream job for him. Figuring out how to get there is the hard part… once achieved,
This would be first step in my coaching Model “DRIVE” that am introducing for your journey:
D – determining the goal
R – Realizing the reality
I – Idea generation and Insights
V – visualizing the action
E – Execution
DRIVE revolves around driving your own profession to the next level up.

The next step of the model is:
R- Realizing the reality is where practicality concept comes in the play!

Practicality by definition is: “The aspects of a situation that involve the actual doing or experience of something rather than theories or ideas”.
We spoke about passion and dreams and having dream job but often we are faced by an ugly truth that is reality. How practical is this dream job? Does it pay the bills at the end of the month? Does it help me fulfill my responsibilities?
Becoming aware of the current reality is key for the client. As a coach, helping the client start recognizing his / her current reality the solutions starts to emerge.
This second stage of my coaching model will uncover many key factors that are affecting the client and blocking him from achieving his dream job. Some of the questions to be answered:
• What is currently happening?
• When does this happen?
• How often does this happen?
• What effect does it have?
• What other factors are relevant?
• What have you tried so far?
By answering those questions, the client starts to realize what reality he/ she is facing and what effect its having on his career and his choices. This is exactly when, with this realization, the magic starts.
The passion needs to be explored, reframed and repurposed with some practicality in order to be translated into proper ownership of career move. This process happens in evert stage of my DRIVE model which in a nutshell revolves around driving your own profession to the level up. This definitely requires passion, but also needs a realistic and practical understanding which can be translated into ownership and drive.
There is a very narrow division between being passionate to grow and the speed of career growth that can slip quickly into a demotivating or disappointing outcome. It is good to explore with the client this passion and help him deploy it into realistic career steps.
My own power tool presented here comes combined with a very powerful existing tool in the course called: “Responsibility vs Blame”
If I want to summarize it and link it to my own power tool, I would ask:
“Being rational, realistic and practical does it have to balance this strong desire to grow and pursue our passion toward a dream job?
In summary, the power tool “Responsibility vs Blame”:
“In any given situation you are either taking responsibility or you are blaming.
Responsibility is about giving up on the chance of a different past and focusing on choosing the future.
When we are blaming someone or something else, we are actually giving away our power and positioning ourselves as the victim. ” We have given ourselves no choices.
This means, responsibility is when one gives a positive consent that he/she has choices in the onward future.
Yet, when one is aware that he/she is blaming, he can shift to the choice of responsibility. Thus, when one becomes conscious of this choice, he will grasp a “freedom” in the related areas of life.
Hence, “whether you are blaming others, or simply fate, you can reframe your perspective from blame to responsibility and experience true freedom.
Responsibility leads to freedom:
Responsibility = Freedom + Empowerment
Blame = Loss of freedom + Disempowerment
Responsibility is not just a way to act, it is a way to view our entire lives. It is a perspective that we can choose to empower us. ”
It is also important to shed light on how to end the “Blame-Game.” Above and foremost, no-one can cause you hurt unless you have allowed them. Therefore, instead of pointing fingers, it is more honorable to take responsibility instead. This entails admitting that human nature is vulnerable to committing mistakes. So no need for conveying blame onto others, rather it is important to act responsibly. Here the language of communication would shift from the blaming you-messages to the I-messages, where assertiveness and responsibility are evident.
In turn, one could hence move to “Forgiveness.” When one stops the blaming process, he would then be forgiving. Shifting to forgiveness, whether self-forgiveness or towards others, opens an empowered door towards the present and future.

So how do we decide between taking a practical route to career hunting or following our hearts to pursue a lifelong passion to a dream job?
The hard answer: there is no right answer. We will figure it out together.