How To Find Your Passion At Work: Ask Yourself These 3 Simple Questions

When experts provide advice on how to have a great life, following your passion is a frequent mantra. Just find what you love, they tell us, and you will have greater levels of work-life fulfillment.

This is true, but the process of finding purpose and pursuing passion is illusive for many. It just seems awfully big and significant. How can we consider something so heady when we're just trying to bridge the distance from our morning coffee to our evening glass of wine?

New studies into psychology and brain processing provide some helpful perspective.

First, when you consider what you love to do, put yourself in the first person. Imagine yourself in a situation you might love. Rather than considering the situation in the third person-from a distance or in the abstract-imagine yourself actually doing the tasks or activities associated with what you're considering.

An Ohio State University study found first-person envisioning fools the part of your brain that pays more attention to common biases or social judgments. Don't let limiting beliefs like "men are less suited for careers in early childhood education" or "women should steer away from the sciences"-override your preferences. It turns out imagining yourself in situations can help you establish a more clear sense of your passions. This can-and should-shape your pursuits.

Another helpful lens on your preferred path comes from the value of hindsight which Clemson University studied. Ask yourself to consider a younger you and give yourself advice. Progressive's brilliant marketing scheme pokes fun at "becoming your parents"-those who regularly give us advice-but in this rendition, you're giving yourself advice. Far from annoying, it helps you to become your more ideal self.

The value of perspective isn't new. George Land and Beth Jarman wrote about the power of thinking "backward from perfect" in their 1990's book Breakpoint and Beyond. Backward induction is a mathematical reasoning concept in which you place yourself in the future and then reason backward from that future point to facilitate decisions to get you there.

So, in order to give yourself career advice, take a twist on backward induction and start from what you know today and work backward. According to the Clemson study, the most compelling advice fell into the categories of education, self-worth, and relationships.

Focus on these areas for a new perspective on your passion. Ask yourself:

What would I do differently in terms of my education? What has worked and what can I build on? What am I curious about? In what areas might I continue to seek learning or development?

What are my best contributions? In what situations have I felt most fulfilled and rewarded for my talents? What mistakes have I made and what would it be wise to avoid in the future?

What people have been most helpful to me and how might I build those or similar relationships? Which people have sucked me dry and should I avoid moving forward?

A wise colleague had a regular ritual where she and her husband, on their anniversary, would open a bottle of wine and reflect on their past year and set goals for the year to come. Another colleague would regularly create a vision board with his partner and then keep it in front of him each day of the coming year. These are smart approaches to emulate-helping to keep purpose front-and-center in your life.

Reflection is always valuable, so hit the pause button to put a new lens on your passion and give yourself some advice. And in addition, plan to regularly reflect and renew. Whether you're imagining yourself in the first person or giving advice to your younger self, the new perspective will inform your pursuits and your fulfillment.