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Finding a passion is hard. Not everyone discovers it early in school and can work tirelessly to perfect a skill, to then follow their passion and do right by the universe, like my brother-in-law. Many people are like myself and lose their passion along the way. Many other people don’t find a passion until they are out in the world after school ends and they have real life experiences that push them into something.
Unfortunately, even more people never find a passion. They go through life doing what was always expected of them, or what they were told was the “right” way to live. Find a job you are good at and will pay well enough to get by. If they are happy in this life, and feel fulfilled in their job and their personal life, then that is wonderful. Not everyone wants a big life passion, many people are happy and content in an everyday 9-5 so they can get home to their family or friends.
But what about those people who aren’t happy in a 9-5? The people who want more, and feel that there is more somewhere for them?
Is that you? It was me.
How then, if you know you are meant for more but don’t yet have a passion or calling, do you find it?
MEDITATION
I can’t say there are easy 1-2-3 steps to follow, but there are some things you can do that will open you up to discovering it. The most important one being to start meditating. Really, it only has to be for 5 minutes a day to align yourself with your subconscious. This is not to say you need to perfect meditation, it is to say that you need to sit and discover yourself. You can not find your passion if you do not know yourself.
I know many people feel like they can’t meditate. I think this is because there is a belief out there that to meditate you need to sit still and in silence for an hour to get to highest consciousness etc, etc. This is not true, and anyone can meditate. That includes you, even though you think you can’t sit still long enough, or you- even though you can’t make your head stop thinking for a full minute. I know this, because I was you. Now I meditate everyday. Some days for five minutes and some days for an hour. (Here are some tips and tricks to help you if you feel like you can’t meditate.)
[one-sixth-first][/one-sixth-first][one-sixth][/one-sixth][one-sixth][/one-sixth][one-sixth][/one-sixth][one-sixth][/one-sixth][one-sixth][/one-sixth]So, your first step is to meditate and learn more about yourself. Also, sometimes when you’re meditating the Universe helps out by putting a thought in your head to follow. So make sure you are listening and take note of the random thoughts that pop up.
Read also: 5 Reasons to Meditate for 5 minutes (or more) Every Day
BRAIN DUMP
You can also start brain dumping. Pretty much, it is writing everything in your head without stopping. Writing without paying attention to punctuation, or sentence formation, or flow. Just writing exactly what comes to your head, and writing for a full 3 minutes. Three minutes is a long time, and this is actually harder than it sounds, so you can start with one minute. Then tomorrow do a minute and a half, the next day two minutes, etc. Start your brain dump thinking about something specific, then just write. It is best to do this somewhere comfortable when you know you will have at least a full 5-10 minutes to yourself. Nothing interrupts a train of thought like a child yelling “MOOOOMMMMM!” in your face repeatedly because you didn’t answer immediately the first time they said your name.
The first few days you do this exercise, start with thinking about something that is not specifically about discovering your passion. Try something a little more specific, and a little easier. Maybe think about some travel spots you want to visit and why you want to go there specifically, or what you love most about your life and why. Try to focus on positive subjects. It is ok if as you are writing your thoughts don’t stay 100% positive, this is not a mindset exercise (specifically at least, although it can help), it is an exercise to get you to a place of being able to know yourself, and in turn your passion.
TRIAL AND ERROR
What did you love in middle and high school? Playing guitar? School politics? Photography? Feeding the homeless? Church camp? Writing? (that was me..) Try doing it again now and see how it feels. You may find that it revitalizes you and you want to follow that calling and see where it goes. You may not. It’s worth trying though. Don’t give up on whatever it is the first day back if you don’t love it, especially if it has been a long time, it may take a few weeks or a month to feel like a “natural” again. If, in the end, it is just not for you anymore?
Cool, try something else.
Again if you don’t like it, make sure you give it a fair shake before you decide it’s not for you and move on. Then try something else.
Keep in mind while you’re going through trial and error to find your passion, that it does not need to be a life-changing world-helping philanthropy mission. It can be as simple as “I love to write” (again, that’s me) Sometimes things need to unfold for a bit before it becomes clear why you are passionate about this certain thing.
WHEN YOU FIND IT
From here, follow your intuition. Your gut feelings. That is the Universe telling you that you are on the right path, and what to do next. Keep meditating, keep doing brain dumps and start to look for answers to where your passion can and will take you.
Making sure your mindset and energy are in line with the Universe is very helpful to being able to feel what the Universe is telling you to do. Make sure to check out 10 Things to Do To Change Your Mindset and Improve Your Life, and sign up for my e-mail newsletter to receive first notice when the in-depth eBook comes out!
Awesome! A person might find that meditation is their new passion even. Lol!
I just finished a full day silent meditation retreat. I didn’t think I could do it, but it was great! I highly recommend it.
I would love to do that at some point!