I was recently chatting with someone I have been guiding to find a new job.

As part of our discussions, I suggested that she create a body of work, to build career capital and also to use it as leverage in the interviews she was attending.

She promptly put my advice to work and converted some of the in-depth assignments that she created in the process of job search into blog posts.

Once she completed the first 2 pieces, she shared some marketing topics that she was interested in. She also told me that she was interested in poetry, mythology, art, and architecture and wasn’t sure how these would fit in her body of work.

This is a dilemma that most of us face. Whether to spend time building a career and doing what it will help this cause or to take some time out to indulge in our passions?

If you face such a dilemma, then don’t ignore your passion even when you are working on growing your career. Keep nurturing your passion, except when going through a big change like getting a new job or experiencing a major life event. In such situation take whatever time you need to do it right. At all other times, keep your passion close to you

Use your passion as your ‘sanity controller’. Something you use to connect with yourself and to get away from work or what you ‘need’ to do as against what you ‘want’ to do.