How to ignite your passion without quitting your 9-5 job

How to ignite your passion without quitting your 9-5 job?

Just like in the latest Beyone’s singe ‘Break My Soul’, these days it is almost impossible to avoid comments like: 

” Quit your 9-5 job and follow your passion”

“Get out of corporate prison and be your own boss”

” The great resignation is not slowing down”

But do they apply to you if you:

• like your employer and colleagues?
• the actual routine of working certain hours?
• the security and status that comes with a corporate job?

Do you have to choose between your corporate career and your entrepreneurial passion?

It may sound unrealistic, but it’s possible when you make these lifestyle and mindset shifts:


1. Get yourself out of survival mode 

Stress is one of the main challenges of high performers in 9-5 jobs!

It’s difficult to think creatively when you’re:

Sleep-deprived

Stressed

Struggling to find time and space to think.

To be able to think clearly, you first need to get your nervous system to a calmer, safer state of being. As simple as it sounds: You need to meet your basic needs! This often demands changes in lifestyle, habits or relationships.

• Do you get enough sleep? 
• Do you have enough energy left after work to dedicate to your passion? If not, what’s draining your energy in the day?
• In your day job, do you spend a lot of time proofreading every email and checking every detail so that there are no mistakes? so that no-one ever criticises you?
• Do you set clear boundaries and communicate it to others? or do you let everyone invade your time and space all the time? 
• How can you build more mental and physical strength in yourself?

Sometimes all you need is Scheduling a Breakdown (Yes Really) To Change Your Life! Once you create more space to think, you are ready to move on to the next step!

2. Get in touch with the authentic leader inside you. 

What is authenticity and what role does it play in our life and career? 

We develop survival mechanisms in the process of growing up and civilization. Our mind creates these protective patterns from an early age. But what was “useful” at the age of seven, might not serve any purpose for an adult. These survival functions often get highlighted in stressful situations.

Our authentic version hides behind layers of survival mechanisms, old patterns and behaviours. Many continue to deal with life challenges with their “child mind”:

• They try to blame the problem on someone else
• Hide and go into a full denial mood
• Feed like a victim and throw a tantrum!
• Want to parent and babysit everyone

To access your true self beyond these stories, you first need to become aware of your unconscious patterns.

The famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung describes this state:

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will rule your life and you will call it Fate.” —Carl Jung

Finding yourself is not an overnight project: It takes time, deep inner work, healing, studying, coaching, mentoring or therapy. And it’s always a work in progress if you want to ignite your passion without quitting your 9-5 job.

The closer you get to your true (authentic) self, the easier it becomes to make decisions. It’s almost like having an inner guide and compass inside you.

You gain more clarity and “finding your WHY” as Simon Sinek calls it becomes easier. The more conscious and self-aware you become, the better you can lead yourself and others around you:

– You can make better decisions about your priorities in both your day job and your side business.

– Instead of doing everything yourself, you create and build resources to support you.

– You can hold a strong vision for yourself and others.

A vision that is not only about self-employment or having a side business next to your 9-5 job: It’s about your impact on this world. 

3. Create a new identity that matches your vision 

Neuroscience research here shows a clear link between “identity and success”. Who do you need to be to bring this vision to life? 

What habits do you need to build and which ones do you need to let go of? 

Do you have a role model to look up to, to get a better understanding of who you need to be to serve your purpose?

Many corporate employees seem to define themselves with their 9-5 jobs: 

Your job title given to you by your employer is not your identity. Create your own identity and see how your 9-5 job fits in.

How can you shift your identity from “employee” to” entrepreneur”? 

What would that mean to your both day job and evening project?

How does your new identity and your 9-5 job fit together?

Do they support each other or do they clash?

Creating these shifts will take you on a journey of better leadership. Read more about leadership on my own blog here. 

Are you ready to become the leader of your life and your career? Then start with one simple shift and see where it takes you. It is usually the simple things that will help you ignite your passion without quitting your 9-5 job. Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

About the Author 

Sara is an ICF accredited leadership coach with an expertise in business strategy development.She launched her own sustainable fashion brand & e-commerce business in 2017 and said goodbye to her then corporate career in supply chain management in construction industry.Today Sara is on a mission to help highly ambitious corporate women launch successful side businesses while thriving in their careers.Along with her husband, Sara lives in an Alpine village in Switzerland.

Sara’s website: https://narosibcoaching.com

Social Media Handle:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-m-0815053/

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 email: sara.mobarhanfard@narosib.com