How I Find My Passion

Finding your passion is not an easy task, but it’s one of the most important things you will ever do in life.

This can be tricky though because we often get into jobs that ‘seem like their time', or 'the thing they're supposed to be doing'.

We stick with these roles for so long because we don't really know what else to do, or we don't believe we could do anything else. We also fear being called no-good or lazy.

I've spoken to many people who feel they have to work hard for too little reward, which doesn't set them up for success. If you are in a job you feel you are stuck in, look around for something new.

There's a good chance there's somewhere you've been overlooked, or someone has undervalued your skills - yourself! You deserve better than this.

I do yoga

This is one of my favorite things to do when I have some extra time every day. Not only does it make me feel good, but I also learn something new every time I practice.

I started practicing yoga in October 2016. At first, I did not like it very much. But as I kept coming back, I began to notice how well it trained my mind and body.

My mind learns about gratitude and compassion through the practices of yoga. And my body learns how to relax and work with me mentally and physically by doing other exercises along with yoga.

Since then, I have practiced several types of yoga. Some are more strenuous than others, which is okay because we find what works for us!

Now, almost two years later, I still love yoga.

I read a lot

A few years ago, I decided to make reading my favorite pastime. I picked any genre of book that appealed to me and just started reading.

I didn’t know what I would get out of it at first, but over time I realized how much these books helped me develop as a person. They gave me knowledge and inspiration, and pushed me to challenge myself to see how well I could understand the material.

Reading is a great way to enjoy leisure activity spending some time alone with a good book. It can be fun to connect with other readers who share your passion for stories, or you may find more practical benefits like learning something new or improving your grammar.

There are so many ways to enjoy reading! You don’t have to spend hours sitting in a quiet place only talking to yourself. Try giving early retirement a try by investing in some paperback novels.

I exercise

A few years ago, I didn’t know what to do with my life. I spent most of my time sitting around doing nothing. In fact, I can't remember the last time I did something active that made me feel good about myself.

I was overweight, which is never an easy thing to deal with. I felt bad about myself and it showed in my behavior.

It took more effort for me to be happy than it should have. I would go through periods where I would be awake all night thinking of ways to describe how much I hate my life, and then the next day I wouldn’t say a word because I didn’t want to hurt anyone's feelings by telling them how unhappy I was.

A lot of times, I'd find myself crying at work or while I was lying in bed asleep. It was like I had no control over anything, and I hated feeling like this.

My favorite movie of all time is called The Graduate. And one of the main characters says something very close to “If you don’t love what you are doing, you are not going to stay stuck in the rut long.”

So here I am, three years later, still talking about how I lack motivation and inspiration and I've done almost everything I could think of to make myself feel better.

I try to be honest with myself

As mentioned earlier, finding your passion is not about having an easy time doing things that you like, it’s being willing to do things that you don’t like in order to identify what your passion is.

It's exploring and experiencing different aspects of yourself, and learning how to motivate yourself. It's understanding the reasons why you love something and thinking about ways to make these things accessible to others.

It can be going after dreams that matter to you, or giving up dreams that no longer feel worthwhile. It's knowing when to keep trying and failing as well as deciding when to give up and move on.

I watched a movie

Many people have different routes to finding their passion. For some, it’s creating things (writing or drawing novels, filming YouTube videos, sculpting sculptures). It could be teaching something and getting paid for it, running businesses focused on that subject, investing in stocks or companies related to that area, or just exploring concepts around passion so you can apply them elsewhere.

For me, my journey into discovering what I truly enjoy doing came much later than most. At the age of twenty-two, I picked up a book and was utterly shocked at what I read.

The book was called The Miracle of You by Debbie Dennison with Ann McGee. Both authors worked together to bring this powerful message to light. This book inspired many people and has helped countless others find happiness.

What made this particular book special is that it teaches your inner child how to create his or her own sense of worth. The chapter titled “Finding Your Life Purpose” explains how important it is to love yourself and give yourself credit for all sorts of achievements.

From there, the writers suggest looking within and asking yourself what you want from life. Are you trying to make enough money to satisfy your needs? Do you hope to feel happy every moment of your life?

The answers to these questions will help you figure out your life purpose. Having an understanding of your goals will also help keep you motivated as you pursue them.

I brainstormed my interests

As we know, passion is what keeps us coming back for more of something. It’s what makes us keep looking into our books even after we have read them many times. It’s why we get up out of our seats when we watch a movie that we have seen a hundred times before.

Passion is what compels you to spend hours studying about a topic you love. You may not enjoy all aspects of this topic, but you still want to learn as much as possible.

It’s also what motivates you to put in the effort to achieve your goal. Even if you don’t feel like working hard, you do it because you believe so strongly in the product or service.

And lastly, it’s what helps you stay motivated while you are doing the things you already love!

I learned how to find my passions by experimenting with different areas of life. By exploring different domains, I was able to identify certain traits and qualities that appealed to me. These qualities would then help me determine whether an area of interest was worth investing time in.

By thinking about these areas in terms of whether they helped make me happy, I was able to weed out some weaker possibilities quickly.

In fact, one of my greatest lessons in self-development came from investing time in an area I initially thought was worthless.

I asked myself what I like about my lifestyle

There’s a reason why I spend most of my time in yoga pants and sweatshirts. It's because I feel comfortable with how my body looks. Plus, I love spending time in nature and being surrounded by natural beauty.

I also enjoy listening to music and reading books. And while some people may say that TV is more accessible than ever before, I still find myself mostly watching movies and shows.

It’s not just that I enjoy them, but I recognize myself in many of the characters. I think this comes from growing up feeling uncomfortable with my own identity.

So instead of seeking out stories about white protagonists, I made my own story filled with experiences and emotions that are related to mine. This way, I can connect with the movie or show even more deeply.

I looked at my life

As I mentioned before, I spent years trying to find what I was passionate about. It is tough as an adult to identify things that matter to you.

I wasted so much time looking for something that I didn’t recognize it at all.

It wasn’t until I stopped looking that I found what matters to me.

What are they? Simply staying alive makes me happy.

Living with no goals or dreams seems like a pretty sad way to live. So I made a goal to live a rich life, one filled with experiences and stories to tell.

This includes creating memories with friends and family, traveling, investing in businesses and industries I believe in, and pursuing hobbies and skills I enjoy.

All of these things make me happy now and will continue to do so in the future.

Staying alive makes me happy. Investing in myself and the world around me makes me happy. Following my instincts and doing things because I want to not only make me happy, but others too makes me feel good.

These things don’t always make me wealthy (yet), but they make me living, which is more than I had back when I first started thinking about finding my passion.