dream

There are some really lucky people out there. People who at 6 years old know exactly what they want to do with their lives and end up living their passions by the time they’re 20 years old.

Then there’s the rest of us.

I consider myself a passionate person. There are things I really like and others that I dislike, but when it comes down to it if somebody had asked me a year ago what I would do for work if money wasn’t an issue…I would have had no answer.

Maybe I would have said I want to be a travel blogger or that I wanted to go back to school and join Doctors Without Borders.

As you can tell from how well those two things relate to each other,  I had no effing clue.

Worse yet? I didn’t even know how to narrow it down and find exactly what my passion was.

Let me tell you it took some tough love (on myself) and some even harder days before I figured out how to get from the point of being passionless to a point of semi knowing what it was that I wanted to do. Don’t be fooled-I have a long way to go but when I look back on the distance I’ve come I could not be more grateful.

By following these steps I was able to narrow down my focus and get that much closer to finding my passion, and I’m confident if I continue following these steps that one day something amazing will happen-my passion will find me.

 

  • Make a list of what you do everyday and a list of what makes you happy.

    This has to come first. Do it now. Seriously, write it down with a pen and paper. Then just start adding the things that make you happy into your every day instead of your every now and then. Come back in a few weeks and revise your list. Take things out, add things in. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

  • Start doing things you think you might be passionate about.

    Sometimes we’ll think a job is perfect for us until we do it and we find that realistically we had just romanticized it in our minds to be something that it is not. This is why it is SO important to go and do things before fully committing to something that you THINK you want but might not actually want in a few weeks time. Find a way to do something related to what you think your passion is so you can see if that’s really the right path for you, or if there’s another extension of your interests that is better suited for you.

  • Don’t be afraid to take on a different kind of job.

    This goes hand in hand with the previous point. You have to start doing things and you have to not be afraid to get your hands dirty-for free. Money isn’t everything and trust me when I say it will all work out. Don’t be scared to take on work or an opportunity that doesn’t pay-just do it and see what happens. Taking on this different job/opportunity will get you that much closer to finding your passion and being that much happier. Not to mention it can be an incredible resume booster for the future.

  • Talk to people. People have connections.

    Crazy connections that you wouldn’t ever know about if you had never talked to them. Be vulnerable. Tell people that you think this is something you might want to do but you’re not sure. Has anyone ever told you about a specific job or opportunity they are looking for? What’s the first thing you did: think to yourself if you know anyone doing that that could help them. Whoever you’re talking to is going to do the same for you. Just by merely being friendly you could get yourself an amazing opportunity and change your life.

  • If you want to live a passionate life you have to put energy and time into it.

    It’s going to take time and sometimes you’re going to have to say no to partying. The best part is that you’ll WANT to say no to partying because this will mean so much more to you than a random night on the town. Prioritize your passions because that is showing the world that you are prioritizing your happiness. You’re setting yourself up for extreme success and that’s something you’ll always be grateful to yourself for.

Following these steps is the easy part-keeping your faith is where the magic happens. You have to have trust in yourself that you can pull of anything you want if you put your energy into it.

It always helps me to really sit down and think that I am only living this life one time. In 60 years time I know for a damn fact I would be kicking myself for not at least trying to follow my passions. In the past few years of ditching the mainstream and going for what interests me I have discovered more about myself than I ever thought and have had such special experiences and opportunities come my way. It’s already been more than worth it and I can’t even imagine what is to come.

I know that everyone is capable of feeling this way and this world would be an incredible place if we all were thriving on these types of positive emotions. So, get out there and start doing something, anything that gets you closer to finding your passion or better yet-anything that gets your passion closer to finding you.