Don’t know what you’re passionate about? – choose something!
Ever heard that you should build your career around something you’re passionate about? I know a lot of people that just don’t know what they’re passionate about or that don’t have the luxury of even thinking about it – they struggle with paying the bills and getting the kids to and from school.
What if I told you that the biggest thing stopping you from living closer to your passions is that you haven’t taken the decision to do so seriously? What if the only thing missing is that you choose something to be passionate about and then walk through that door?
FALL for the pressure of society..
How secure are you in the choices you make in life? Do you look for approval from others?
Most people are very susceptible to the critique of the outside world. How then do we listen to our own inner voice and truth? And how do I know that what I like IS truly what I like and not just something that would please someone around me?
People around you probably want the very best for you. The problem is that sometimes those people have very different life experiences than you and their advice is just not relevant to your life.
One way to evaluate others opinions/advice is to look closely at where they are in terms of success within the area they’re commenting on. Have they earned the right to be a contributing tribe member? Are they living the advice they give? Sometimes people give advice even though they haven’t had the time to live that advice yet. Just like I’m doing right now 😉 When you follow their reasoning does it make sense to you? If so then you can incorporate the idea in your plans. If not, then thank them for the advice and make a mental note to ignore it 🙂
..or STAND for your curiosity
Another way to isolate yourself from negative opinions is to become aware of where it comes from. I bet you already know who you can expect negative comments from. So why do you fight against reality and expect things to be different? You can’t change someone else’s worldview. It’s actually quite irresponsible to walk into a situation pretending that you don’t know what’s going to happen when you do. If you know, based on prior experience, that this person is going to send negativity your way then DON’T get upset when that happens. See if you can just see that negativity as a sign of progress. No matter what you do that negativity will come, so switch focus and realize that negativity from this person means you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing in your life!
What if I don’t know what I’m passionate about?
Some people have no problem coming up with an entire list of things they are passionate about. Their problem seems to be that they get paralyzed by all the choices or ineffective because they try chasing all of them at once.
Passionate is a strong word though. Maybe you’re picturing obsessed workaholics or fiery flamenco dancers and don’t feel you can relate? I’ve realized it’s a problem for all us fixed mindset-people. We were fooled into believing that there is a “right” way to do things and that if we weren’t really good at doing things with little or no effort then that only proved how stupid and limited we were.
That is a sure recipe for not trying new things. And if you never try things then how are you supposed to find out what you like or not?
I’m learning about my own scripting and it’s a continuous trial and error finding out what I like doing. It’s sort of weird not being able to answer that question. Like I SHOULD know. I’ve realized that it’s much easier to follow a different feeling than that musty paralyzing passion.
Start with a smaller but still just as impactful feeling
Be still and listen to what YOU want to know more about. What YOU would want to research even if you were alone and no one knew. If you’re under stress from living a busy life it might not be easy to hear. It might be stressful even to sit still for a while and just listen. Be patient with yourself and give yourself 10 minutes. Take 10 minutes and sit completely still. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds and then let it out with a deep sigh. Feel your shoulders lower and feel the calmness come into your body.
Ask yourself:
- Without any thought of financial return or of what the people around me would think – what am I curious to learn more about?
- If I had a time machine and could reset any decision I made by just going back in time and start over, what would I want to try doing?
- What person, living or dead, are you secretly impressed by and would like to know more about?
- In my past. What situations have I been involved in that I’ve enjoyed more than usual?
Be relentless and brave – push forward knowing that progress beats perfection
If you’re like me and have just found a flickering little flame of curiosity then fight for it! Protect it fiercely from negativity and fan that flame as much as you can. Make it a deliberate act to nurture that idea and engage with it as much as you can to grow it into a blazing fire.
It’s truly more important to pick something and start learning about it than to wait for the right idea or the right time or the right amount of knowledge. Pick one and walk through that door! On the way you will learn about how you act under pressure and change, how the world works and how the people around you are and react to you when you’re changing.
And try not to take things to seriously. I think it was Jim Carrey that said in an interview that ”Until you’ve completely messed up in at least five situations where other people have told you that ”it’s now or never!” you haven’t even started!”. Pick something and try it out! If it’s not what you wanted you WILL find something else to try – but if you don’t start you’ll never know what it feels like to live truly inspired.
I believe that life is there for all of us. Let’s keep fighting and supporting each other to build it.
