If your passion hasn’t hit you over the head yet, don’t fret – it doesn’t usually happen that way.  Nor should you expect to trip over it or walk right into it.  Most of us can name a handful of things we enjoy but we shouldn’t freak out if someone stops us on the street and asks us “What’s your passion?” and we don’t have an answer. ( Here’s a hint, though.  Ask yourself what you spent hours doing as an elementary school student.  Go from there.)

Passion is spelled dangerously close to passive and yet, those words are farther from each other than my version of Indian cooking and what you’d eat in a restaurant.  Like worlds apart.  “Finding your passion” is a phrase that’s being thrown around all over the place but what does it mean?  And how do you find it?  Certainly not by being passive!

Finding your passion is an active search.  When you are trying to find your misplaced wedding band, you don’t just sit on the couch hoping it falls into your lap.  No!  You stick your head and hands in every nook and cranny of your house, you get down on your knees, you mentally re-trace your steps, you call someone whose house you were last at or you put up a sign in the restaurant you ate in last night when you last remember wearing your ring.

So, why should finding your passion be any different?  Thankfully, the search for what moves you, energizes you, makes you want to jump out of your bed in the morning, is a lot more exciting and less traumatizing than my example above.  And just as valuable!

Sometimes, you do end up “tripping over it” or “walking right into it” but everything has to be aligned just so for that to happen – and it starts with you knowingly sending out these search vibes into the Universe.  Here’s one way you can send out those vibes:

Do you remember when I asked you to make a list of all of the things that interest you?  I suggested taking a piece of paper or a page in your journal and jotting down all of the things that land anywhere on the spectrum from mildly interesting (i.e. I’d raise an eyebrow at it) to super exciting (i.e. I’d jump at the chance to be able to do this every day).  Well, this week I want you to get out that list and let your eyes scan each category.

Your passion most probably lies here! 

And no, it’s not necessarily going to jump off the page at you – maybe it will even be one of the items on the raise-one-eyebrow-at side of the spectrum.  So, how will you know?

Get actively involved in the search!  I’ll randomly choose one from my list as an example.  Horses.  I have been horseback riding twice that I can recall but I’ve always thought horses are amazing, graceful creatures.  How do I know there isn’t more than just a mere interest here?

  • I could find out where some riding stables are in my area and try riding again.
  • Or I could take a few lessons.
  • I could ask a friend of mine who owns horses if I could come up for a visit and spend some time with hers.
  • I could get a book out from the library.
  • I could try to draw a horse from one of those interactive drawing websites I have mentioned before.

Basically, I could step into the world of horses in whatever way I want to.  The worst that could happen is I could decide that horses as an idea are interesting but are not something in which I want to invest more time.  That’s not so bad considering I probably would have grown a few brain cells in the learning process.  I could use the intellectual stimulation!

So, go ahead, pick a topic.  Decide on how you are going to jump in the driver’s seat of your life and move forward in your search for fun!

If you would like some direction on how to explore the topic you pick, don’t hesitate to drop me a line.  If there are certain blocks you are encountering like finding the time, child care or anything else, you can mention that, too.

Keep track of your search – journal about what you are doing to explore these areas on your list.  Tick them off your list as you go along.  Who doesn’t like to tick things off a list?

You know what?  I’ve just motivated myself to get back to my list!  I know that writing is something I’d love to do all day long but I bet there are other things out there that have more passion potential than I realize.  I’ll keep you posted and hope you do the same!