Your Passion is Waiting for You to Find It.
“Find your passion, and you’ll never ‘work’ for a day in your life.” We’ve all heard this philosophy before and want to live by it. So, why is passion so important and why is it so hard to find your own?
When driven by passion, you become a subject matter expert out of the sheer love for the subject itself. It’s what the world will know you for, call upon you for and regard you for.
Today the journey towards the discovery of your passion has become complicated. We’re constantly bombarded with different kinds of stimuli in the form information and while knowledge is power, the overdose of it can often leave us stuck in a paradox of choice. This complicates our decision-making process which is key in the journey of self-discovery.
The abundance of choice causes confusion, you like so many things, that is becomes hard to identify which one is truly your passion. What makes it harder is how much time we spend consumed by the information available around us, often making us forget that the one thing we should make time for is ourselves. We start thinking about what we want to do in life without really knowing ourselves. What would make us wake up 10 years from now, just as excited to do what we’ve been doing all along?
At Born to Win, we believe that passion is a blend of two key ingredients – what you love doing and what you can be the best at doing. So, here’s an exercise to help you in your journey to figuring out just that.
Step 1 : Start by listing out your interests. All the things, fields, or products that you like and that make you happy. Don’t analyze, critique, and filter them out while you’re putting down your interests. After all this is just the first step.
You’ll find that you have a variety of things, fields, and products you like. They will vary from simple everyday things like playing with your pet, listening to music, certain foods, etc. to more engaging and time-consuming things like writing poetry, creating new recipes, cryptocurrency, movies, animal care etc. Remember nothing is too small or too big to be your calling – your passion.
Step 2 : Now from the list of interests you’ve put down, start prioritizing that list by putting them in the order of most loved to less loved, until you have a top three that bring you joy. It’s important to arrive at a top two or three or even four because true passion makes you delve deep into a particular subject or field. It’s what you will spend majority of your time doing and that special commitment can only be commanded by a few.
Step 3 : Now this is where the analysis comes in. From what you’ve identified as your top interests and likes, it’s time to figure out what you’re good at. Which of these do you believe you can do at a world-class level? When doing this activity, it is important to recognize that you might not be at a pro level just yet, however, you should introspect to identify which of these interests will motivate you to improve upon it and develop the necessary skills to master it. For example, if you love writing and are good at it currently, will your love for it motivate you to learn the different aspects of writing and better your craft until you find the avenue that best allows you to display your craft?
This exercise will help you identify the one or two things that can consume you. Passion for a particular field will make you put all your efforts into learning more about it, and it will also make you enjoy the feeling of it being the one thing that’s at constant play in your mind. It will fuel you to a point where you will become one of the best in the world in that field.
As Swami Vivekananda said, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”
Though this exercise will take time and the process requires dedication, it’s the best way to discover your passion and the success and joy that passion brings. So, give it a shot after all you are born to live a life fueled by passion, you are Born to Win.