When I was 20 years old, my childhood dream of becoming a writer died out, and since the creative itch is incurable, I decided to find a new dream. I tried different things: dancing, theater, journalism, painting, photography, foreign languages. Hobbies changed approximately every month. My then-boyfriend was perplexed and said: “All this, of course, is good, but this is again turning the steering wheel.” And the director of my diploma chuckled and remembered a funny poem about the pioneer Lida: “Drama club, photo club, and I also want to sing...” While you are young, you can look for yourself, because even wheat does not immediately throw out a stalk - first it bushes. But when the time comes to work seriously, it would be good to understand your, so to speak, key competencies, because your career is at stake. And it would be nice to build it in what you love. But how to find it and not change your mind after two weeks - I’ll share the algorithm. The most obvious symptom of love for the profession: you recharge yourself while working. It’s not for nothing that many passionate professionals say: a job you love makes you healthier, even if you came to it sick. It’s not just rock musicians who recharge themselves from work; everyone who works with interest gets sick less and has a calmer life. The mechanism is simple: at the moment when we experience an emotion of interest, morphine-like substances are released into the blood, and they are the best antidepressant and anti-stressor for the body. Under their influence, blood pressure levels out, immunity increases, and the mood is excellent. “Envy test”: understand who you envy. Yes, yes, envy is a very clear symptom that we can do this too. Usually we do not envy someone whose abilities we do not have. For example, I personally like people who deeply understand the secrets of the human psyche, scientists, philosophers, teachers who inspire to live meaningfully and in development. At the same time, the successes of pop celebrities or the wild profits of the gods of trade are not very interesting. I choose the appropriate path and constantly make sure that I am moving in the right direction. Look around, scroll through the pages of celebrities on Instagram, read the biographies of people you are interested in and think about whose place you would like to be. Another simple life hack: imagine that a lot of money has fallen on you, for example, a lonely aunt left a huge inheritance, and you don't need anything anymore. You don’t need to go to work, you don’t need to work to earn money either. What will you do? You can be content with gradually getting closer to what you love. For example, you are an accountant by profession and a theater fan, but right now you cannot become an actor or theater director. But there are theaters that require accountants? Wouldn't the very opportunity to enter the theater from the service entrance make you happier? And then you won’t be far away from meeting the stars, because you will be the one paying their salaries. And in the meantime, no one is stopping you from gradually changing your profession and attending acting or directing courses. And if you don’t have the patience to go through all these steps, then understand what you love more: art in yourself or yourself in art? Maybe it’s not a love of theater at all, but that you just want to be the center of attention? To do this, it is not necessary to become an artist, especially since their life is not always covered with roses, rather the opposite. If you want to go on stage, then become, for example, a leader or start teaching. Then you will get more than enough attention (the whole day, so to speak, in the circus arena). “Test for the Nobel Prize.” Imagine that, as a result of many years of hard work, you have reached the pinnacle of your activity. Look back and look at the path you have traveled. What are your feelings? Don’t you now think that you were in vain to go in this direction? What has life with this profession given you, how has your daily investment of strength in it changed you internally? Do you feel like you missed out on something by devoting yourself to her? If you have a feeling of satisfaction and inner peace, then this is really yours. If you already understand what the matter.