How to Find Your Passions in Life
Whilst for some people, knowing their passions or interests can be very easy, for others this is not the case. Please don’t panic if you’re one of those people who doesn’t know what they’re passionate about, because believe me, there are so many others thinking the exact same.
Whether it’s how to spend your free time, doing a job that you enjoy, meeting new like-minded people, it always seems to come back to phrase “do something you enjoy”. What if you just don’t know what those things are?
In the article below, I will list a few different ways of potentially figuring this out.
Remember that identifying your passions should not be a difficult or painful process, it is something to be enjoyed. After all, it could help you to find the things that give you the most enjoyment in life.
Change your perspective
Approaching your day-to-day life with a positive attitude is vital in finding smaller things which give us joy. It is not always about the large adventures, but even the little things which daily bring us a sense of fulfilment.
If you never try new things, or are constantly look at your life in a negative way, this is going to be very difficult to change. Instead, try to focus on making the most out of your time, fitting something new into your schedule, saying ‘yes’ to something you haven’t previously done. Your mindset is a huge factor in how you feel about your daily activities, so try challenging yourself to view things a little differently.
Work out what you love
Think back to being a child and try to remember what some of the things were that you enjoyed doing the most. Often we get wrapped up in the stress and constant development of life which means we can simply forget some of the activities which we once loved doing. Painting? Creating games? Riding a bike? Try some of these things again now as an adult to see how you find them.
Another great way to work out your passions is to look at the types of films, books and accounts you follow on social media. Is there any link between them? A common theme or factor? If so look into this further and see if it is something you can incorporate more of into your own life.
Take a few minutes to think about the last time you lost track of time. Activities which we enjoy mean that the concept of time almost melts away and we get so engrossed in what we are doing that the minutes / hours can slip away. This is a great sign of something which you are passionate about. These are the sorts of things which you would really enjoy talking about to friends or family. Think about the sorts of conversations you most like to participate in.
When you look at activities, events, new things happening, what in your current calendar (or coming up in the future) are you most excited about? What are you looking forward to the most? Have a think about why this is. There are factors about certain things which we enjoy more than others. Try to narrow this down to find out exactly what qualities you look for in the activities within your life.
Think deeper about how you spend your free time
Focus on things you either naturally enjoy doing around the house in your free time, or even hobbies and classes. Naturally, you would think these exact things equal your passions in life. However, it can sometimes be a little deeper than this. For example, if you enjoy drawing, you could be interested in using your imagination, creating things, expressing yourself etc. If you enjoy doing jigsaws, you could be drawn to problem solving, fixing things, puzzles, building things etc.
Once you have an idea of a few deeper passions you may have, start to explore which other activities could also include these same elements and give them a try.
Step out of your comfort zone
A lot of the earlier ideas rely on you exploring how you have reacted to things in the past or looking more closely at what you currently do. If your daily life at the moment has become a little stuck with the mundane routine then this is going to be a tricky exercise.
Instead, you are going to need to put yourself out there and try new things.
Do some research into new local classes, meet new people at organised events, try new foods, travel to a new place, explore an are close-by which you have never been to. Life is about experiences and how we perceive them. At the end of the day, to work out what you are passionate about in life you are going to need to try different things to see what works for you.
Try not to write new ideas or opportunities off too quickly. Sometimes things can surprise you!