So many people say you need to find your passion in order to feel fulfilled or to work out your purpose in life. But what if you genuinely don’t know what it is or even where to start?
Passion in this context is the feeling of being in the flow, where we are doing some that completely absorbs our interest, time flies, we feel light, we are creative and it is as though we have limitless energy. If you are lucky enough to have your passion become your career, your business or your vocation; it probably also means that work will never feel like work again; that what you do brings you much joy and pleasure, plus it also helps pay the bills!
That’s all very well when you know what activities make you feel this way – but if you are so weighed down by just getting through each day; that you undertake most activities because you have to, and they give you little or no pleasure at all; then indeed it is time to try and find something that gives you joy and makes life worth living.
Start with being curious instead. Start taking notice of the activities in your daily life that do give you a small sense of joy or pleasure. Can you amplify the experience by doing more of them or perhaps join an interest group? What happens when you interact with other people who are interested in the same activity – could this become a ‘thing’ for you? If not, move on, experiment with other new activities – keep exploring until you find something that feels good and is able to become part of a more regular routine.
If being curious isn’t doing it for you – then start with trying to find a tiny spark of interest instead. It doesn’t matter how small – follow the clues – Google a random activity that you once loved to do as a child – follow the stories, follow the sparks of interest until you feel that you are maybe onto something. Can you take that activity, or even elements of it and start introducing aspects of it into your daily life?
Maybe you loved to make up stories and then act out plays of them to your family. Maybe you loved swimming in the sea – or running in the rain. If you think back to happier times I am sure you can find memories of some things you loved to do.
Or if your childhood was not so happy – what did you do when you needed to escape? Perhaps it was reading books – what type of books, what sort of stories or situations did you dream of that helped you get through the difficult times? If you loved reading about animals – perhaps you could look to volunteer at a local animal shelter and see if there is some aspect of caring for animals that starts you on a journey of exploring what might lead into becoming a real passion for you…
I urge you to really make an effort to discover and connect with your passions. Being able to act on our passions and have them truly enhance our lives, or have them help give direction and purpose in our lives, is a magical state to be in. If you’re not there yet – keep looking, keep striving, stay curious – I am sure all the effort will be worth it once you find that something that gives life meaning for you!
If you want some help to find your passion, then give me a call!