Oprah Passion Test

As we grow older, it becomes more difficult to find passion for things that you were once passionate about. It can be hard to motivate yourself to do things you have done before, unless you are motivated by something new.

This is why it’s so important to determine what passions lie buried inside of you. The easier thing to do would be to just keep doing what you were already doing, but if you want to achieve bigger goals, you will need to learn how to stir up your inner fire.

You will have to work at it, though. It won’t burn bright overnight, but with repeated efforts, you will find yourself feeling happier and more excited than ever.

There was a time when everyone knew who Oprah was. She was famous for her talk show, she had her own successful line of products, and she gave inspiring speeches all over the place.

It's no wonder then that when she launched her OWN channel in January 2011, she made such a big deal out of introducing herself as “Oprah Winfrey, the world’s most powerful life coach.”

Since then, she has built an empire not only through her TV shows, magazine columns, and motivational speaking engagements, but also through her self-help books and merchandise. All tell us pretty much the same thing: If we put in the effort, we can accomplish anything we set our mind to.

Am I working on my passion?

It’s easy to get distracted in this work-life balance era, especially with all the distractions of technology.

With every new notification or message, your desire to pursue your dreams quickly diminishes. After all, why should you make more money than those people who don’t seem to care about their jobs as much as you do?

And while it is great to admire their dedication, most of them don’t live the life they dream of living.

So if you’re not making enough money, take a good hard look at yourself and ask yourself what you are willing to do for your career — be it a few thousand dollars less per year or quitting your job altogether.

If you can’t afford to do either one, then perhaps it’s time to consider other opportunities outside of earning a paycheck.

You could open up your own restaurant, become an entrepreneur or start your own business – anything that requires you to invest some money but also takes control of your future.

Alternatively, you could give back by helping others achieve their goals. Or maybe you’d like to study something non-profit related so that you can help develop strategies and techniques to create change.

Am I doing my passion crushes work schedule?

It’s so easy to spend your time working and spending money, staying busy. But what about life outside of work? What about relationships? What about investing in yourself (more than just by buying more shoes)?

It can feel like you’re spinning your wheels when you don’t find time to do anything beyond rush around after work and go home to watch TV or sleep. You may even start to feel that you’ll never have any time off because you’ve got no way to relax. And if you are not taking care of yourself, you will burn out.

You need to make room for things that matter to you. For example, how much time do you devote to friends and family compared to hobbies and activities? If it’s less than half an hour every few days, then you should consider changing this.

Making changes to fit into your lifestyle takes effort at first, but eventually, you will be happier and healthier. Try limiting yourself to one thing you want to accomplish each day — something that requires some focus.

Am I spending time on my passion?

It’s easy to spend your life chasing what you want, not what you are passionate about. You may have a job that you feel obligated to do, but if you don’t believe in it anymore, you will be looking for work soon!

Likewise, if you love something – whether it is learning new things, reading books, eating dessert every day, or listening to music — then why not pursue it with more intensity?

It’s impossible to achieve success without first defining what you want success to look like. So make sure that you are spending your time on activities that you enjoy, and that bring you joy. Because without that, how can you expect to stay motivated long-term?

You'll also need to remember that “passion” is only half of the equation. The other part is consistency.

Consistency is harder than having an intense bout of passion once in a while. It takes discipline and motivation at all times to keep doing something even when you're tired or hungry.

So try to identify some areas in your life where you can add in some consistency. For example, if you love studying, then instead of watching TV after school, study hard until bedtime. If you loved working out, then instead of ordering takeout, choose to make lunch and exercise as one.

By adding small changes like this into your daily routine, you will see progress towards your goal.

Can I focus on my passion all day long?

Let’s look at a few examples to see if this is true.

I have a friend who loves fishing so much that she takes it up as her career. She teaches people how to fish, coaches other fisherpersons, and gets paid for going out with professional fishermen to do some fishing.

She doesn’t get rich doing this but she enjoys it, which makes her happy.

What does my passion mean to me?

“Passion” is such an overused word these days, isn’t it? It seems like every person has a passion these days- something that they believe they were born to do and nothing else matters unless you are doing your passion.

But what is the definition of this term really, truly means?

I think one of the biggest issues with defining passion is people use it for different things.

Some people say, ‘well I know I feel passionate when I exercise so that must be my passion.’ Or, ‘my job makes me passionate because I love helping others so that must be my passion.’ or even, ‘being married made me feel passionate so being married must be my passion.’

None of those examples define what true passion is. If you want to know if something is your passion, ask yourself two questions: 1) Do I feel strong emotions while I am doing this? 2) Is there a part of me that wants to keep going even though I have done enough – I will feel some kind of relief once I stop.

If you can’t answer both of these then probably don’t consider this to be your passion.

How can I get more of my passion?

Even if you don’t feel like doing something, you must do it to know how to do it. And once you learn how to do it when you want to, then you can move onto the next thing.

The easiest way to gain your passion back is by finding what you love to do and then making every effort to do it as well as you possible can. It could be practicing your favorite sport or game for hours every day, reading about the same topic over and over again, or exploring new things related to your current passion — all the while putting in the necessary time and energy to achieve success.

If you need help figuring out what you are passionate about, ask yourself questions such as why you enjoy certain activities, how they make you feel, and whether there are ways to improve upon them. You may also find that talking about your passions with other people helps — we all have different strengths and weaknesses so learning these things is important.

What can I do to crush my passion?

As we know, passion is what keeps us engaged in things that we already like. It’s why people stick with their job they hate or why you keep watching your favorite show week after week.

But how do you develop your passion?

It takes work! And it won’t happen overnight. But if you want to see true success in life, you have to invest in yourself and grow from within.

That doesn’t mean dropping out of school or giving up on dreams — it means investing time in activities and disciplines that make you happy so that you can enjoy them more fully.

And don’t expect perfect timing — sometimes we get hooked on things that burn quickly, but are not worth it. Use your sense of motivation to determine if this thing is truly worthy of your time and energy.

What are my passion values?

Many people have a perception that success artists and entrepreneurs are passionate all the time, always putting their goal ahead of anything else. They seem to be constantly working hard, spending lots of time developing their craft, and chasing after their dreams with no breaks.

But there’s a big difference between having passions and living passionately. Having a passion for something means you will put in effort into it, but you won’t feel too pressured by it when you need a break or want to do something different. You will know what is needed to keep it going and how to push through when necessary.

It takes a lot of work and energy to live your life as an artist, entrepreneur or leader full-time, so making space for these things that don’t make you instantly rich isn’t easy.

However, if you don’t then you will die poor. Your financial situation may not improve even though you're very successful because you'll never take time off to enjoy yourself. You could spend your whole life trying to achieve your dream job and career, and still come up short - unless you also invest in friendships, family and self-care.

I learned about this from TV personality and business owner Oprah Winfrey. She says it took her twenty years to realize she had to include personal investments in her life before she could truly call herself successful.