In A Pikle
What Is Your Passion?
WHAT IS YOUR PASSION?
With the dawning of a new year, I was recently asked the question, “What is your passion?” Believe it or not, this question actually stumped me. Most people may be able to instantly answer, but for me, it took some time to really define what things I “like” doing, “love” doing, and find “passion” in doing vs. the things I “must” do to keep life running smoothly.
Have you ever found yourself passion-less?
Sometimes, within the daily routine of a career, children, a spouse, meetings, carpools, sports, lessons, motherhood, etc….we sometimes find that we have forgotten the things that really ignite our spirit. You know, things like the feeling of pure joy.
Where do I start?
How do you begin to rediscover what ignites your spirit? With the online resources we are blessed with in this day and age, there are so many sites that offer thought provoking questions relating to this topic. There are word quizzes, color quizzes, and shape quizzes galore! There are articles, magazines, and books in abundance. But, for me, the best advice I found to begin defining my passion was a culmination of information from many different blogs I have been reading. These tips for reuniting with myself were very helpful and I wanted to pass them along to you…
- Your passion does not have to be job related:
Naturally this was the first thing that most people think of when asked about their passion and for some, that is the truth. If your passion is helping others, perhaps being a nurse, therapist, or something of that nature is your answer. However, your passion does not have to make you money. It can also be something you like to do that makes you happy and fulfilled without being paid.
- Ask yourself pointed questions:
This particular tip was very helpful for me. If you are unable to instantly identify what you define as your passion, there are a few easy questions you can ask yourself:
- If I researched this subject for a whole year and read everything there is to know about it, would I get bored?
- Could I do this for 2 or more years without getting paid and still love it? This narrowed my list down quite a bit because, let’s be honest, some things are just better when you get paid.
- What do you absolutely DISLIKE doing?
Make a list of things you don’t like doing. Once you have the list in front of you, this can help narrow down what things aren’t worth even exploring.
- What are you good at?
We all can’t be good at everything all the time (if we were all good at everything, what a boring world we would live in!). Brainstorm your talents, things you are very good at, and things that you are just okay at. This will help broaden your list and will also help you identify things you haven’t even considered.
- What things do you do on a daily basis?
This can be things as simple as texting a friend, going to work, being a mother, volunteering, eating out, watching TV, and sleeping. It’s your list, so there is no right or wrong answer,
By using the information above I was able to narrow down my passion and found this little exercise kind of invigorating. BUT I found out that I have a secret…I have more than one passion. I actually have three!. I just couldn’t pick only one! Interestingly enough, they are also things that I never thought would be on my list of “passions.” Perhaps as time goes on and I explore the subject more I may narrow it down and continue to refine.
Now it’s your turn…what ignites your spirit? What is Your Passion?
