FINDING YOUR PASSIONS – PART 2
In my last post I talked about removing your anchors to enable you to find your passions. Removing those anchors can be tough and dropping some of them wont happen overnight but there isn’t any reason you can not work on it whilst also discovering what you are truly passionate about. In fact, if you know what your passions are, they will inspire and motivate you to get through the difficult times in this process.
So what is passion and how do you identify your passions? Some people just know. They have a calling, a mission. It might even be lifelong, it might change over time. I didn’t feel any of that. It didn’t come to me until I was nearly 40. Up until that point, I was a career woman, on a corporate ladder. And there is nothing wrong with that but I had become uninspired and although I loved the people I worked with, I felt like I should be doing something more.
I started asking myself which parts of my day did I get excitement from or enjoy the most and why was that. I began to understand that it was having those meaningful conversations with people and seeing that not only were they getting value from them, but I was too. It was that feeling I got when I was really listening to someone and they appreciated it. It made me feel happier and this contentment deep in my belly. These were similar to the feelings I get when I go on a long run with a friend, when I am in the dark, coffee next to me, all is quiet except for the tap, tap on my keyboard, when I am knee deep in fabric, music playing along to the whirr of my sewing machine or when I feel that clay moulding under my hands on a wheel but mostly when I am in the moment with my family and there are no other to-dos drawing my attention away. And I realized, these are all my passions.
The exact feeling you get might not be the same as mine but you can ask yourself the same questions. When was the last time you felt excited about something? And why did you really feel that way? Another common question people ask when trying to figure this out is what would you do if money wasn’t an issue? That question sounds unrealistic, money is always an issue, you have to make some to live. And it is true. You can almost guarantee, though, that if you have a passion, someone is probably already doing it and making a living from it. Find that person, do some research and figure out how they did it. The other thing to remember is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Maybe you can keep your day job and build your passion as your side hustle until it becomes your main source of income. Or take a vacation from your current line of work and see if you can figure out how to make your passions part of your life now. Or don’t make any money from it and keep it as an extra curricular activity. You may be able to answer these questions and how to get there on your own but talking about it with someone else can help get other ideas and perspectives too.
Whatever your passions are, cut your anchor ropes and sail after them. It doesn’t have to be a one way trip and it doesn’t have to be sink or swim. Being true to your passions and having them in your life will make you feel you are living more meaningfully.