I often ponder what drives your interests. Are you fascinated by luxury cars, business economics, or rock formations—and perhaps more important, what is the source of your interests?

As a career coach, I look at a set of factors to help my clients determine what career would be most suitable. I use an assessment called Elevations to prioritize and identify career-related values, skills, temperament, and interests. Of these four areas, the one that often cannot be explained by your upbringing or your life experiences is your interests.

As you go through school and ponder what you might do with your life, you are drawn into certain subjects and not others. You might be artificially forced by family or financial pressure to ignore your innate interests—but they never go away. They tug at you, drawing you in, demanding your attention and time.

My personal experience with the power of interests is my love for yellow labs. I have owned three of them, one was a rescue named BJ and the other two are Weston and Joy (in the photo above.) I know the breed is popular so you might just assume I’m drawn to their cuteness, incredible temperament, and lovability. But it goes beyond that.

I tried to convince myself to choose a chocolate lab or black lab but, I could not bring myself to make the minor shift. My heart is compelled to share my home and my life with yellow labs. I was not raised with this breed and can not tell you why or how the love affair started.

I share this with you because your interests are so compelling and important to your life and career satisfaction. If you are looking to increase your level of job fulfillment, I encourage you to ask yourself the simple question, what interests you? An honest answer to this question can clear the clutter and put you on the right path.

Your interests can be long-standing or they can change. This is also an important part of your career development. Over time, you might burn out one area of interest and need a change. Different stages of life give you the opportunity to keep growing and learning about your full range of interests.

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