In the last post, I wrote about an exercise I did in order to come up with a clear, realistic and time sensitive plan which will allow me to meet my goals and achieve the desires of my heart. Several of the commenters, and a couple of people who emailed asked me the same question – how to you find out what you are passionate about, so I thought I would write about what worked for me.
Firstly, I think there are millions of people with no particular passion, I can think of several of my friends who have shared with me that they have enough with work, shopping (they are very keen shoppers!), a holiday/vacation twice a year and a membership at an exclusive gym. They don’t particularly want to do any more with their lives; that may be right for them, but I know of all my friends it is these friends who share that they feel life is passing them by, or get upset at opportunities they’ve missed, or become unhappy when they can’t afford the things they want – holidays, luxury clothing etc, so I do think not having a passion can have consequences and reduce your feeling of being able to lead the life we want, because with no passion or calling there is very little distraction from “stuff” or the norms of society.
So what worked for me in finding my passion started with what I would call building awareness! One thing almost all my friends who admit they have no passion/cause admit, is that they really don’t know what is out there. There are hundreds of ways you can build awareness about what is happening in the world, or your community; what worked for me:
- Reading the newspaper – I’ve found (in the UK) the Guardian has helped me find out what is really happening in the world, what the issues are and what are the best types of support/help! In Canada I read the Globe and Mail and in the US I read the New York Times!
- Reading the local paper – helps me see what is happening in my city and how I can be involved
- Reading political magazines (you can find them at some libraries) like The Economist, Newsweek, Macleans
- Join groups on Facebook – find out what some of the major charities are doing – groups like World Vision, Fairtrade and Water Aid
- Read blogs which inspire – I try to read blogs about politics, faith, racism, volunteering etc.
- Have discussions with people – where to they volunteer, what do they care about?
- Meet new people – through my knitting club and book group I’ve learned about so many new causes, projects and places!
- Become a member/subscriber of charities – you can sign up for information from your local animal shelter, local cancer charity, school etc.
- Read newsletters – from a Church, school, community centre – they often have a lot of information about what is happening
- Think about the time of year and activities you engage in! Each spring I buy daffodils to support Marie Curie cancer charity - this means each spring someone sells them – this means *I* can volunteer to sell them and raise money for cancer care! I posted before about this, but even if you only have your lunch hour to give, it is a great way to give back!
- Peruse sites like the Food Bank sites , see if there is a food bank in your city start to think about ways you can help – even if it is just donating canned items, or giving one evening as a one-off.
Having seen friends go through massive transformations in how they spend their time and money, I can honestly say that building awareness is a very important step in finding out what your passion is: what news stories made you particularly emotional and made you want to do something? Which charities did you feel a pull towards?
In Part III (this weekend) I’ll go through questions I asked myself which helped me really fine tune what my passions, desires, causes and wants for my life were – all easily answered once I had awareness of just what was happening in my community near and far!
I couldn’t agree more with this statement:
They don’t particularly want to do any more with their lives; that may be right for them, but I know of all my friends it is these friends who share that they feel life is passing them by, or get upset at opportunities they’ve missed, or become unhappy when they can’t afford the things they want
It is so true that if you don’t know what you want out of life, how can you know how to go about getting it?
I find many media outlets are biased; it is a good idea to read the news from several different media outlets. Certain news stories make me emotional: usually death and abuse. Aside from that, I try not to take news stories at face value. The reporter reports what they want, the side they know about, what about the other side of the story. I care about my local community so I donate to the food bank monthly.
My purpose? Some people may not think I have a purpose. Besides, I’m not inventing a cure to something, coming up with new scientific theories, nor building a business empire. It’s all subjective don’t you think? Perhaps someone’s goal in life is to travel around the world; another wants to live on a self-sustaining farm; another might just want a job, two vacations a year, go shopping and is content with that. I do what I think is right, is necessary, and things that make me happy.
I very much agree with this post, people who don’t have direction or causes they care about often rely on things or situations to make them happy.
I agree with the commenter above there can be a media bias and certainly is in tabloids, but I don’t think you can use that to stop educating yourself, I think it is an easy way out. I have friends who complain about media bias so don’t watch or listen to the news or read the paper, I think your idea of educating yourself by looking at different publications and using a variety of settings is a good one!
I look forward to the next post on this as I’m learning a lot.
I have to agree that passion/purpose is individual. It seems to me that your passions are drawn towards humanitarian efforts, which I applaud.
I like that you gave some great suggestions to help people explore life & build awareness. Maybe it’s taking a water colour painting or cooking class. Maybe it’s volunteering at a place of interest. Maybe it’s putting one’s skills to good use by helping & guiding others develop their skills. I am “passionate” about creating, learning, sharing, exploring, mothering etc.
Maybe one’s purpose is just to be a good person. When I think of my husband, he’s a man who likes to go to work, provide for his family, come home and relax. A huge part of his life is hunting & fishing, the outdoors. That is what he is passionate about. Does he impact others by this? probably not. He will teach our son these skills, and hopefully he will enjoy them too.
He has no interest in volunteering etc. I think his passion is simplicity really.
I could talk about this for a while but I’ll get off my soapbox!
One of the reasons I keep coming back to your blog is your ability to honestly share about what works for you. You also always admit we are all different, but answer people’s questions honestly and with thought and I hope everyone who reads this post realizes this!
I think that people often get their backs up about not doing more, when they are doing nothing. I will never forget how defensive I was when I was working, thinking I was happy, but actually was just surviving and not overly happy or content. I came up with every excuse in the book not to broaden my world, not to volunteer, not to read the papers, not to give, not to join groups etc. Finally a few years ago I came to faith and changed completely although it is still a battle at times.
I don’t take this post, or the one before it, as your saying everyone has to do what you did or everyone should spend their lives volunteering 24/7. I take it as your sharing your experience and that of your friends. I think, quite honestly, that there are sadly millions of people who sleep walk through life very much focused only on buying, getting, having and I think most of those are not at peace (or at least I wasn’t and most people I know aren’t either). Of course some people are too scared to change and it will disable them for life!
So, as one of the people who wanted to know what worked for you, in your experience, I thank you for answering and do hope people see you were simply answering a question, not stating a recipe for life!
Fabulously Broke – I really like your statement, very true!
Thank you for this post, it’s very helpful and leaves me with a lot to think on. I look forward to part 3.
Lisa x