In this article we look at 4 guidelines to help you find your passion
Are you tired enough of living your current life to make a serious change?
It’s easy to be told to “follow your passion". However it would be great advice if you could figure out where your passions lie!
There are many ways to find your passion, but they're not necessarily easy. We tend to shy away from the things that are most meaningful to us.
It seems counterintuitive, but can be a little scary to live with that much enthusiasm. Having a lot means that you can potentially lose a lot.
It’s natural to want to play it safe and keep your 9 to 5 and your four weeks of holidays. However, few of us grow up wanting to work in an office, simply pushing papers around.
If you’re stuck in a life that bores you, then resistance won along the way.
Luckily, you can reinvent your life.
You can dare to be bold and different and you’ll most likely find life to be much more enjoyable!
Use the following strategies to find your passion and multiply the excitement and meaning in your life:
1. Find Your Passion: Expect the process to be challenging and embrace it.
When you determine your passion, you’re likely to feel elated at first.
However, that feeling might reverse itself before long. There is some part of you that will rebel against your spectacular idea.
Hidden fears will come to the surface. These can include fears of failure, vulnerability, rejection, inadequacy, and exposure.
The burden is on you to fight this resistance. If you refuse to give up the fight, your feelings of resistance will eventually die down.
2. Know your values
Your passion has to be in line with your values, or it can’t truly be a passion.
So what is a value?
A value is an idea or concept that you regard highly.
For instance, "family values" might be 'caring for young ones' or 'being faithful to my spouse'.
Values are one of the highest things in the hierarchy of change, only superseded by your identity and purpose.
Because of this, they are big motivators.
So make a list of your values. Take your time and do a good job. You have more values than you think.
To get started, make a list of your favourite activities. It might be playing the piano, drinking vanilla lattes, writing, or teaching judo.
Again, take time to ensure that you cover all the bases.
Be clear on your values and what you most enjoy. These will provide clues to your passion.
For a more detailed way to determine your values, please check out Dr John Demartini's
3. Find Your Passion: Look To Your Past
What did you want to do when you were a child? Why didn’t you follow through?
Make a list of the things you enjoyed as a child. What did you dream about? What did you want to become and experience?
Your passion might not be dramatically different from your interests as a child.
4. Use the power of your mind and a pen
Find an hour you can spend alone and in peace. Write at the top of a piece of paper, “My passion.”
Now just write whatever comes mind. If you think to yourself, “This is silly,” then write “This is silly”.
Just put every thought you have down on paper.
- It may take 20 minutes or so to get all the refuse out of your mind before you get to legitimate ideas. Just keep writing.
- You’ll know when you’ve hit pay-dirt.
Many people report the experience of tears running down their cheek when they finally write down the right idea.
If you’re not sure, keep going. - Listen to your gut. Your passion won’t be the result of a logical decision. It’s the result of intuition. Trust yourself.
In Sum
Are you ready to live a life filled with passion? Are you ready to risk your current level of mediocrity?
Make a commitment to yourself to find your passion and make a difference in your life.
Time is ticking away.
Now is the time to act. The world is waiting for you to be motivated and engaged.