How the heck do I find out what I'm passionate about?
"I would rather die of passion than of boredom!"
- Vincent van Gogh
Yes to that Vincent! But first, we need to make sure we know what our passions are! Let's start here.
What is the difference between interests and passions?
I see a lot of people who think they don't have any passions. The first thing we do together is work out their interests and what might be a passion from them.
What's the difference, I hear you ask? You may have lots of hobbies or interests, but you probably only have one or two passions.
Interest is activities or subjects that you would spend time learning and enjoying but are likely to ebb and flow in your life. While passion, on the other hand, can be an intense enthusiasm for something. Webster's dictionary defines passion as:
a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something.
I can call art, baking, and nature my interests. But I would call music and singing my passion.
The key difference is that with a passion, you can be quite intense about it, while with interests or hobbies, you are more relaxed; hence, they can come and go.
There can be lots of feelings associated with passion. I get scared performing on stage and putting myself out there, but the fear is also because I'm intense about it, love it so much and want to do well.
Think for a moment and write a list of your interests. Are any of these passions?
Double-check if it's a passion, and check your energy levels.
Can you feel the excitement in your heart or body?
Is it something you could talk about at length?
And the big question
Will you regret not doing it before you leave this earth?
4 more ways to discover your passions
Okay, so you are still not convinced you know what your passion is, try these:
Reflect on your life so far. What were you doing when you were your happiest?
Attend workshops and classes or join a relevant club to try out your different interests and find out how interested you are in them.
Ask friends. When do they see you at your most excited and interested?
Volunteer. Get involved in volunteer work that might expose you to different people and interests.
If you would like to take a deep dive into working out your passions, join me for a free webinar on August 14th at 12pm NZST. Save Your Space Here