Tips to help you know how to find your passion and tap into what motivates you on the path to greatness. Because no more waiting!
Sometimes, knowing how to find your passion is a little more tricky than it sounds. That’s a reality I know all too well and today I wanted to share tips I’ve picked up along the way to help you tap into your passion and find what really motivates you.
No doubt, the relationship you have with yourself is the #1 most important relationship in your life. A big part of being in a loving relationship with yourself? Ignoring outside pressures and following your own journey.
Have you ever been on the receiving end of the question: so, what do you do?
Of course you have! And a question like that can be daunting, especially if your still in the process of figuring things out yourself. At 18, many of us trek off to college with very little idea of what we want to actually do with our lives. Then we graduate and enter the workforce, where sometimes you strike gold and find a job that really suits your personal ambitions. Other times, it takes a bit of work and self-reflection.
How to Find Your Passion
If you’re one of the many who struggles to identify exactly what you want to do with your life, rest easy. You’re not alone and today we’re going to talk about how you can FIND the things you’re passionate about to live the most fulfilling life you can.
I’m at a point in my life now where I’m happy, know what my passions are and follow my strengths. It wasn’t always this way, though. I definitely went through periods of time where I felt completely lost. To find focus, I had to be open to a lot of trial and error — and trust me, it was A LOT of trial and error.
So if you’re not sure how to find your passion or are facing a bit of an existential crisis – fret not! Down below, I share some time to on how you can find your passion and tap into what really motivates and fulfills you.
Take a Class in Anything That Remotely Interests You
My first suggestion on how to find your passion is to explore. Take an in-person class on a subject that interests you or seek out a video online. YouTube is a great resource for free content on virtually every subject under the sun. Then there are sites like Skillshare that provide online classes led by experts on a wide-range of topics.
If something remotely interests you, go for it. You might hate it, OR you might love it!
Take Up a Hobby – or Five
I subscribe to the idea that everyone needs at least one hobby. For me, I have a full-time job working in communications. On the side, I operate Dream in Lace because it fulfills my need to continually create and allows me to create content surrounding topics of interest to me that I don’t get to delve into in my 9-to-5 life.
On a recent trip to NYC, I was watching a street performer jam it out on a saxophone. Sure, onlookers where giving him tips here and there but was that a get-rich plan for him? No. He has a passion for music and went out to play for the public because it was simply something he enjoyed doing.
If you need inspiration, get on Pinterest and browse around to find things that inspire you. Look inside your community for classes on cooking, yoga, etc. Use sites like Meetup.com to locate meetups in your area on things that interest you. Volunteer! If you have an interest in something outside your day job, find a local nonprofit with that mission and get involved. There are literally so many ways to find hobbies – all you need to do is open your eyes and get started.
Teach Yourself Something New
I taught myself HTML coding in high school by ripping source code off website and playing around with it on free sites like Angelfire (Old school!!) and Adobe’s Dreamweaver. No one asked me to, I just had an innate desire to learn how it all works and learned through trial and error. After HTML, I moved onto wanting to learn video editing. I picked up professional editing software and got started. I spent hours playing around with video footage, crafting projects simply for my own amusement. It was another trial-and-error learned skill that has benefited me in many ways professionally.
My point? One of my best tips on how to find your passion is to have an open mind and try learning a new skill. You might hate it, or you might tap into a talent and passion you didn’t know you had. Never stop learning!
Passion Projects Can be just for You
In today’s age of sharing EVERYTHING – it makes sense that we’ve conditioned ourselves into thinking that a passion project is only of value if it’s something we share publicly or monetize.
But truth is? Not every passion has to be a resume or bank account builder.
If it’s a passion that fulfills something within you and makes you happy — that’s more than enough reason to pursue it. We all need things in our lives that fill US up and finding a passion or a hobby that does that for you is a win on all counts. Working on a project for yourself is empowering, improves confidence and will overall make you a happier person.
It’s Okay to Fail
Lastly, I want to touch on our collective fear of failure. Sometimes, we know how to find our passion but are too fearful of failing to pursue it. As understandable as that is, it’s also a way to short-change yourself. Think of anyone at the top of any field. They without a doubt failed somewhere along the way, but they kept going.
I say, let’s all erase the negative stigma surrounding failure and see it for the positive that it is: an opportunity to grow and improve. When we fail, we get to learn lessons we never would have had the chance to had we not tried to begin with. Those lessons are fuel to help you do better next time.
Let’s take a big example? Lady Gaga. (I love her). She was told no many many MANY times before her singing career took off. And even when it did, she received a lot of bad press and judgement from others. Did she let any of that stop her? No. She kept going and now she is a global superstar.
This isn’t to say we’re all going to become the next Lady Gaga, but her story is relevant because it’s a prime example of how you can’t bow to outside pressures or let failure stop you from pursuing what you’re passionate about. We all only get one life to live and it’s too short to let failure or anyone else’s feelings of doubt get in your way.
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Stay stylish and chase your dreams!
XOXO
Kelly
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