Day #316: Actualising Your Passion

In the end, it all comes down to you and your passion. But you might be reading this and thinking it’s really nice I found my passion and became a better person, but you don’t know what your passion is yet, so what should you do? How does this help you? Some people will tell you just to keep looking and you’ll know when you find it, but I don’t think that’s true. It’s like telling someone to randomly toss a bunch of seeds on the ground to see which one grows into a plant without actually making sure they get enough light and water. Let’s be honest… if the plants aren’t growing? Throw different seeds on the ground!

If you’re not sure what you want to do, don’t just look for it outside yourself. You should also cultivate the right mindset inside yourself. Find something to work on that you can meaningfully contribute to, something you think is worthwhile, even if no one else cares. As long as it makes you think, it makes you happy, it motivates you and it is not something you need to be dragged out of bed to do. This is your passion. The only step post this is to get REALLY GOOD AT IT.

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”  — Howard Thurman

It happened to everyone… as an early as kindergarten, we find ourselves getting pestered with the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Unless you are one of the very few people who actually became a veterinarian, odds are, your answers have changed every year. Then there was the cliche of “Don’t worry,” they told me. “As you get older, what you want to do will become crystal clear.”

But to further points above – if you are struggling to still lock down your passion here are some quick tips to ignite it… 

• Do things you like, even if you don’t “love” them.

• If you don’t know what you like, start with what you don’t like.

• Try new things.

• Don’t stress out over it.

Honestly, who cares if the only hobby you can think of off the top of your head is sleeping? When people ask you what activities you enjoy, feel free to make things up.

It’s really okay to not have your life figured out, and even more okay to admit it. Hopefully, I have at least 50 more years to live, and even if I don’t figure out my life’s passion by then, I’m sure I’ll still be doing just fine.

Photo Credit: Instagram @s.dem_| Location: Temple of Apollo (Dephi)