What Truly is Your Passion?
Many things define who you are but some of the most important are your passions.
You can enrich your life by learning more about who you are. With a better idea of what defines you, you will be able to live knowing that you are living your life to its fullest. And, knowing your passions also makes decisions in life easier.
Even given its importance, many people do not know what they are passionate about or what really excites them.
So, the question is how do you find out what your passions are? One important thing to think about when determining your passions is to make sure that they are truly yours and not imposed upon you. For example, you may be given feedback about yourself from others that you used to define yourself. In this case, it is quite possible that these points represent other people's interest more than yours.
Consider a passion as something that brings you alive, something that energizes you, something that without realizing it you gravitate toward, something you may find yourself obsesses over. Notice that these are NOT skills or talents. A passion for something also does not necessarily mean that you are an expert in that area or know a lot of technical detail. But, it is something that you may naturally learn a fair bit about over time.
Be honest with yourself.
So, two more ingredients for a prosperous life are:
- Know Your Passion
- Live Your Passion
When you are creating your list of passions, you will be able to make it a more true list if you practise "The Art of Asking Why?" This technique will allow you to determine whether or not what you listed is actually a primary passion for you or just a secondary interest.
To do this you need to take a passion that you have and ask yourself, "Why do I do this?" or "Why do I like this?" For example, if you have a passion for reading, why do you read? What makes you need to read? Is it to escape from the reality of the world? Is it to learn more about different cultures? Is it to gain knowledge? Is it to be entertained? When you get the answer to that initial set of questions, do the process over again and continue to ask Why? Do this until you cannot find any further answers to the question Why?
When you’re done, ask for feedback from your spouse, close friends or family. Ask them first what they think you are passionate about and then ask them their impression of your list. Don't necessarily change your answers, just use their input as food for thought.
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