For sure you’ve heard the famous quote, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” However, what happens if you don’t know what you are passionate about?
Are you working a job you hate? Do you struggle to find the motivation and energy to get through each day? Or are you lacking enthusiasm for life in general? If yes, finding your passion needs to become your priority immediately because, until you do, you will remain feeling stuck and directionless. So, let’s explore how to find your passion when you’re feeling lost.
Step 1: Self-Reflection
Self-reflection is a crucial tool for any personal development journey. Asking yourself specific questions and giving yourself time to really think and journal about them will help you discover your passion. Here are the 3 most vital questions you should ask yourself.
1. What Do I Already Love Doing?
The truth is that everyone has a passion for something, but for some people, it can be harder to see. Don’t get caught up with the word passion, though, as your passion may be disguised as a hobby or interest. Instead, simply reflect on the things that you love doing the most.
Write a list of all the things you enjoy or care about, then number them from 1 to 10 of how important they feel for you, 1 being the most important. You will likely need to think back to your childhood. As adults, we can unconsciously stifle our interests by filling all our time working for someone else’s dream or distracting ourselves with meaningless entertainment.
Therefore, your passion may not be something you are currently pursuing right now. So, think about your past hobbies. Why did you stop doing these things? Did you actually lose interest, or did life simply get in the way, and deep down, you wish it was still a part of your life? Perhaps it was a particular sport, baking, writing, or drawing. Spend some time delving deep into what lights you up.
2. What Is the One Thing in the World I Wish I Could Change?
This is a powerful question that everyone should ask themselves. Everyone feels strongly about something, whether it’s the environment, healthy eating, or meditation. When you know what your purpose is, you can make a career from it by helping to make the change you wish to see in the world. For example, someone who feels passionate about helping others deal with past trauma may become a therapist. Or, someone who loves animals and cares about their welfare might become an animal rescuer?
So ask yourself, what is it that you think about when you lay in bed at night? What keeps you up? I’m not talking about your personal problems, but what are the bigger things in the world that you wish you could have an impact on?
3. What Do I Find Myself Reading About, Researching, or Googling?
If you’re still struggling to find what it is that interests you, look at what you tend to read about or search for online. We do not research topics we have no interest in, so take a look at your search engine history to see what you are looking for information on.
You may find that you often search for recipes, which may reflect a passion for cooking. Or you might see that you spend lots of your time researching how to live a healthier lifestyle but have never realized that nutrition and fitness are your passions.
Step 2: Exploration
Once you’ve figured out what you enjoy doing and what makes you feel fulfilled, the next step is to spend time exploring these things.
Dedicate Time to Your Interests
If you’re currently dedicating all your time to work or family commitments, it’s time to change that. Your soul is trying to speak to you through your passion, and if you want to lead a more fulfilling life, you need to start listening to it.
So, for example, if you’ve identified that you are interested in yoga, you can join a yoga studio and commit to attending two classes a week. Or, if you enjoyed painting as a child, you can buy some painting utensils and allow yourself one afternoon a week to get creative without any distractions.
The more time you spend doing the things you enjoy, the more you will understand if this is actually a passion or just a fleeting interest. Everyone that has made their passion a career started by doing it as a hobby first.
Brainstorm How You Can Turn Your Passion Into a Career
Once you’ve spent a few months testing your idea, you’ll know if this is your true calling or not. For example, suppose you find your energy increases when you do this hobby, or you always feel in a great mood afterward. In that case, chances are this is a passion that you will want to make a more significant part of your life.
At this point, you can think about how you can turn your passion into a career and how you can make a living doing what you enjoy. Unfortunately, so many people get stuck here as they believe it is impossible to get paid to do what they love. This is not true at all, so don’t let this mindset hold you back.
Instead, start researching what careers there are around your passion and what steps you need to take to get there. Do you need to gain a qualification? How much time and money do you need to invest in making it a career?
Think about alternatives too. You may love animals, but veterinary school is one of the most expensive and time-consuming commitments. However, if your passion is to help animals, there are plenty of other ways you can do so. For example, you can look for a job at a boarding facility, become a groomer, or even open your own rescue center.
Deepen Your Knowledge
It’s important to note that it takes time to turn your career into a money-making occupation. So first, you’ll have to spend time deepening your knowledge of the subject, whether that’s going back to school, volunteering to get work experience, or studying online.
Even if you’re unsure how to make your dream job a reality, don’t let that stop you from moving forward. Instead, immerse yourself in the subject, read books about it, and of course, practice it at every opportunity you get.
Let’s say you discover that you love to play the guitar. Even though a career as a musician may seem far off right now, you can take the first steps by practicing every day and studying the craft. Once you become engrossed in your passion, you may find things move quicker than you thought was possible. Perhaps you join a band and start performing at local events and bars.
Final Thoughts
Not knowing how to discover your passion is no excuse to stay in an unfulfilling life. There is not a single person on this earth who does not have one interest. If you’re struggling to uncover what it is that lights you up, it’s likely you need to slow down your fast-paced life and take some time to self-reflect. Doing so will be the best investment you ever make in yourself!
