When times are tough it’s tempting to scale back hope that your work might have anything to do with what you love or care about. Instead, you think it’s better to “be realistic” and be grateful for any job, no matter what.

It’s at just these times that paying attention to what you care about is more important than ever.

Here are four ways that you can leverage what you love–what captures your attention, excites you, or breaks your heart–in your career.