19 Powerful Steps for How to Find Your Passion and Purpose in Life
How to Find Your Passion and Purpose in Life
As a life coach, a frequent question that clients ask is “How can I find my passion and purpose in life?” This question causes many women concern. In the world that we live in today, many people find themselves living a life that they have no passion for which leaves them feeling empty, disillusioned and hankering after something more.
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears”
This is not a question that has an immediate and straightforward answer, as everybody is unique and is looking for something different in their life. The question may not be so much as” How do I find my passion in life? “ as; “How
can I use my passion to make a life I love?”
Many people already know what their passions are, they do them for fun, relaxation, and to give their life purpose. The problem so many of us have is that we don’t do what we want to do in life, not because we don’t know what we love but because we can’t see how we can make a living doing something that we are passionate about…..that is where the problem lies.
Work forms a huge chunk of our adult life, from our early 20s until our 60s most people will spend time at work……that is a lot of time if you don’t enjoy what you do.
If you are one of the many people who doesn’t enjoy their job, who dreads the alarm clock going off, who has no motivation and finds their working day to day dull and repetitive then it is time that you took control of the situation.
Instead of buffering through your life just doing the same thing day in and day out and putting up with it, think about making some changes now that can take you to a life that you love and is full of passion and fulfilment.
Too many think that the most important aspect of a job is how much you will earn. This is often the driving factor we have when applying for something. Of course, income is important but is it more important than your job satisfaction and your overall well-being?
Should it be the primary factor when it comes to employment? Salary is not the be-all and end-all of your working life. Surely it is better to spend your time doing something that you enjoy and that fills you with passion.
Making your passions work for you.
Discovering how to incorporate your life’s passions into a career can be done in many ways. For some lucky individuals, their passion and careers can go hand in hand.
Anybody who works in the arts such as musicians, dancers, artists, or writers has ready-made professions to walk into or to create themselves.
The same applies to scientists, doctors, and teachers, indeed many professions will be vocational and people will study in an area that they have a passion for and then will be able to undertake a career in that field. Others though will need to look at other routes for getting into careers that hold their passions.
“If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it”
19 Steps to find your passion and purpose in life
1. Brainstorming ideas to develop your passions
If you are unsure of how to develop your passions into a career then try doing some brainstorming.
Also known as mind maps, this is an ideal way to list down all of the skills you have, and passions that you have, just get it all down on paper and work from there.
You will often be amazed at what the brain throws up and once it is all down on paper, it is much easier to organize.
2. Examine your hobbies for passionate areas
Often we are not aware that the hobbies that we have and love doing can be turned into viable businesses. If you have a passion for animals, think of all the different areas that you could go into. You may not have trained as a vet but there are many other areas that you can move into without having to re-train or go to a great deal of expense.
If your passion is dogs, for example, think about a dog walking business or dog sitting. If you have a passion for baking or cooking, have you ever considered setting up your own business and turning your passion into your career that way?
3. Don’t talk yourself out of trying something new
Once you have an idea in mind look for the ways that it will succeed instead of looking for all the ways that it will fail, This can be something that we all do, talk ourselves out of something before we have even begun. It is often our default position in life… telling ourselves that there is no point in even trying because it won’t work anyway.
Without even beginning to try something how do you know whether it will work or not? Having faith and belief in yourself is the first step to doing something that you are passionate about.
4. Be realistic in your expectations of what you can do
Even if you absolutely love what you do there are always going to be days when you don’t enjoy it, that is just human nature. You need to be realistic about what you do. Even actors who appear to be living dream lives and doing amazing jobs will have days when they really don’t want to be doing the job that they do, we all feel like that from time to time, this is completely normal and should not be taken as a sign that we are doing the wrong thing.
Realistic expectations will mean you are far more likely to stick to something than if you have unrealistic expectations
5. Don’t take no for an answer be determined and flexible
Just because you don’t make it as a leading actor, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a career in films if that is what you are passionate about. You need to think about a career, there are often many other avenues that you may not have even thought about going down that can take you to where you want to be.
In this example, if you can’t move into acting, how about life behind the camera in make-up, set design, costume design, production, and promotion… the list is endless in this area and can still incorporate your passions, it is just a question of expanding your mind to incorporate different opportunities.
6. Create a positive growth mindset
To really fulfil your passions and purpose in life, you need to have the right mindset. A growth mindset will enable you to realise your passions and purpose in life. The saying “what you think about, you bring about” is very apt, if you think in a positive, optimistic way and see your passions become a reality, then that will be your truth. The same goes for negatively viewing your passions, you won’t realise your true potential.
7. Be of service to the world
One of the best ways of finding passion and purpose in life is to be of service to other people. Think of all of the people who need help and assistance in the world.
How many of these people are in the town or city where you live? Aiding others who need it can give you the greatest feeling of purpose imaginable.
8. Create a personal mission statement
Before you can begin to fulfil passion and purpose in life, it is a good idea to create a personal mission statement, something that you have down on paper that states what you are doing and why. This will help you keep track of what you are doing, where you are at and how everything is progressing.
A mission statement is a way of being accountable to yourself and is an ideal way of laying the foundations of what you want to achieve in your life.
9. Let your challenges give you meaning
Having meaning to what you are doing is important. Without true meaning, nothing really seems worthwhile. If you are going to start a new project or challenge, you need it to have meaning for it to be purposeful.
10. Become active in your community
Most people can give back to the community in which they live and can create real purpose while doing so. Think of all the people in your community that need help or all of the community causes that need volunteers.
If you want to have a real purpose in life, then offering your time for nothing is one of the best and most satisfying ways in which to get it.
11. Practice self-care
When you look after yourself, mentally and physically, you will find that you have so much more passion and enthusiasm in life.
Think of a time that you have been unwell and lacking in energy, what have you felt like doing? I am sure the answer is not much. It is as if all of your passion and enthusiasm has gone from your body. Practising self-care means that you spend time looking after yourself emotionally and physically, meaning you will have far more passion for your life.
12. Use the powerful force of gratitude
Gratitude is such an important tool to use in life. When you are grateful for all that you have, you will receive so much more. Gratitude also highlights passions and purpose. When you are grateful you build well-being inside of you. It reduces fear, promotes happiness and positivity and gives us a greater sense of well-being overall. When you are grateful you will feel so much more passion towards your life and your purpose in the world.
13. Ask yourself “what causes do you feel passionate about?”
Are you someone who just can’t seem to find their passion in life? As a life coach, one of the questions I ask clients is what is it that you are passionate about? It is amazing how many times, they have no answer and are stuck as to what it is they love about their lives.
Sit down and really examine this question. What makes you feel passionate in life? What are your interests? What are the activities that you love to do? What allows you to escape to a place of relaxation and pleasure? Getting to fully understand yourself can give you so much more pleasure in life.
14. Seek out inspirational people
Certain people just seem to inspire others so much with their thoughts and actions and make us want to be more like them.
These are the people who can light up a room and have people hanging off their every word. The people who make you want to get up and start living with purpose. These are the kinds of people you need to surround yourself with.
Even if you don’t know someone in real life who is like this, follow them on social media, listen to a podcast or read a book that they may have written.
One of the great aspects of modern living is that we can surround ourselves with whoever we want to regardless of where they live in the world.
15. Think about your personal gifts and skills
All too often we are too quick to put ourselves down and dismiss the gifts and skills that we have. When we are challenged to really think about the skills and gifts that we have most of us can come up with quite a few. Use these skills and gifts to match with passions and interests.
If you are good at talking to people, think about ways that you could use your social skills to good use, maybe volunteering with groups of people who need companionship. Most people can match skills or gifts that they have to purposeful activities.
16. Become more mindful and get in touch with the present moment
Living in the present moment means you are far more likely to live optimistically and with gratitude. Being aware of all that you have and all that you are grateful for can put everything into perspective. Living mindfully can help you to live life in a more meaningful and purposeful way,
17. Start journaling every day
Journaling is another tool that I encourage my clients to use because it is so powerful to the mind and promotes positivity. It is an easy way to put everything in life into perspective it is an ideal way of cutting down on worries and anxiety.
Journalling is a great way of getting thoughts straight in your mind and of giving you direction, helping you to discover your purpose and passion in life and then being able to set down ways to achieve them.
18. Make sure you have lots of fun
Try to not take everything in life too seriously. Make sure that your purpose is to enjoy yourself and invest in passions that allow this to happen. Life is about giving and getting the most from everything that you do and the people in your life. Embrace life with a smile, seek out fun wherever you can find it and make sure that you don’t make the mistake of not living enough.
19. Read to expand your mind
So much can be discovered from a book. Reading expands your mind and opens you up to so many more opportunities in life. Read as much as you can to discover what it is you are passionate about.
Final Thoughts
Life is short, too short to spend your days wishing you were living another life, doing something different.
Many people at the end of their lives regret the chances they didn’t take, the experiences they missed out on, and the opportunities they overlooked because they were playing it safe and didn’t want to take chances in case they didn’t work out.
This is not the way to live, why keep yourself from living the life that you want and from doing the things that you are passionate about because you fear the unknown outcomes? Far better to take a chance and believe in yourself, set goals, follow your passions and live a life that you love and that fulfils you and leaves you without regrets.
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