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Your Innate Interests This week’s trek is based on HBS Senior Fellow Timothy Butler’s research on how to find new career paths that align with your passions. Feeling a bit bored with your career? Butler refers to these moments as impasses. These are times when we might have a "feeling that over a stretch of time (beyond a few months) we aren’t growing, we aren’t learning, or we aren’t doing things that seem satisfying" in our careers.  Butler views impasses as a normal part of career development, not a sign that you've done something wrong. Instead, he says to think of these moments as a trigger to evaluate your interests and how they can be better represented in the next natural evolution of your career.  Introducing Your Innate Interests Exercise What It Is An honest look at your innate interests to figure out how much love they're getting in your current line of work. Why We Love It  Sometimes it’s hard to sort out our deeply embedded life interests, or passions, when so much of our focus in on what we currently do or what we know about. This exercise gives us a way to compare ten broad interest areas outside of the context of job responsibilities so we can start to identify the interests, activities and modes of thinking that best align with our passions. How It Works 1. Review these Ten Basic Interests categories and select the three that best represent your passions. The goal is not to pick the top three that best represent your current line of work or what you are told you are great at. Instead, focus on selecting those you are naturally drawn to and that give you energy or inspire you. 2. Once you’ve picked your top three, think through a moment in your personal or professional life where these interests were present. What were you doing? How did you feel? 3. Now consider which interests haven’t been present at all. How might you be able to uncover more of these interests in your current line of work or your next career move? Looking to have a personal jam session on this topic? To learn more about Butler's approach to working through an impasse, check this out from HBR.  To learn more about the common reasons careers can stall, read this from O Magazine. For deep dive on the exercises and tips Butler uses with his own HBS students, check out his book. Have a favorite trek?  Hit us up at treks@lifetrekkers.me and tell us which one you liked and what you learned! Here's what your fellow trekkers have to say about past treks:   "The creative recovery exercise was one of my favorites. This exercise helped me push past my creative blocks. I love using it to clear my mind and reflect by rereading it at the end of the week." - Dama Dipayana, Founder Be Frank Tweet Tweet Email Us Learn More Copyright © 2018 LifeTrekkers, All rights reserved. Want more information? Drop us a line at info@trekkers.me. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list.