Finding Your Passion Is Harder Than It Looks

Growing up, we are bombarded with decisions to make. In high school, our educators drill in us that we must prepare for the future and figure out exactly what we want to do in life before entering college.

This is easier said than done. I am approaching the end as a Miami Dade College student and I still have no clue what I really want to do with my life. What I do know is that I want to find a job that makes me feel good about getting up in the morning.

When searching for guidance, be it from advisors or Google, I am usually told that the best way to figure out what to do with my life is to follow my passion. When faced with my dilemma, this seems like the best and most logical solution. When you follow your passion, you embark on the path to purpose, which allows you to live a life that has meaning and fulfillment. In this way, a person can be successful in whatever they decide to pursue.

Again, this is harder than it looks. Previously, my perception was that my passion would one day wake me up in the middle of the night, and I would have the answer to what I’m meant to do on this planet. I realize that for me, this moment hasn’t come yet and it won’t unless I do something about it.

Passion isn’t something that just finds you. It’s something you must find within yourself and the world around you. British author Marcus Buckingham once said that “passion isn’t something that lives up in the sky, in abstract dreams and hopes. It lives at ground level, in the specific details of what you’re actually doing every day.”

So, how does a passionless individual start their journey to discover their passion?

When beginning my pursuit for passion, I found that many experts suggest that you should reflect on what your likes or dislikes are, and what you love to learn about or teach others. You could ask close friends or family about what you always talk about, review the books you read, music you listen to and the videos you watch to notice any common themes.

All in all, finding one’s passion comes from finding what you love and nurturing it. However, it’s important to note that one thing doesn’t have to absorb all your passion. I challenge myself and others to take these suggestions and use them to discover the top three things you love and then add a little passion to each.

The ultimate goal isn’t having it all figured out when you graduate or stressing about landing the job that pays the most. It’s about finding a correlation between your career and your passion. This takes some work, but with heart and persistence it can be achieved. Just don’t forget to have fun in the process.