If you’ve ever struggled to answer this question: “What are you passionate about?” Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Were they asking out of sincere interest, or might they discount you if you’re passion was’t in alignment with theirs? Or perhaps you froze because you’re not sure and were caught off guard, possibly uttering something about the environment or world peace. You were there to work for their company after all and what did your passion have to do with that?
Perhaps you are researching this for a job interview, or were asked this in a job interview, but your froze trying to guess the aim of the questioner so you’d have the perfect answer they were looking for.
So many have spent so much time emulating reflections of others who are projecting reflections of others, rather than living the reality of what they’re here to do. We become derivatives of derivatives of our true selves.
Joni Mitchel sang that it’s time to find our way back to the garden. I’d say that it’s also time to find our way back home to ourselves and that which we’re meant to be, OR… that which we DECIDE to be.
it’s time to find our way back home to ourselves and that which we’re meant to be.
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
Many People Don’t Know
It’s actually more common than you might imagine for people to stumble and stutter when asked this question, and then to feel bad because of it.
Some people look up and away, clearly trying to access thoughts floating in the ethers that may reveal the answer. Others, pause, and look down and to the side, trying to access a feeling that connects them to their passion. If they can’t connect with it, they often feel that something’s wrong with them. It’s not. If you’re asking and seeking, then you’re right on track.
You don’t have to know what you’re passionate about to embark on the wondrous journey of discovering and creating it. But this article on life goals will help jumpstart your own ideation process.
You may not know what your passion is yet, but you have to keep asking. It’s okay if you don’t know. It’s not okay if you’re not looking.
~Jeff Hoffman, billionaire entrepreneur, speaker, author, humanitarian
Your Inalienable Right
We’re all familiar with the inalienable right of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness immortalized in the United States Declaration of Independence. Yet where in our society do we go for thoughtful training and education on that?
Where do we go to learn to discover and pursue the passion and purpose that reveal the liberty of happiness? Imagine if school included exposure to all kinds of arts, crafts, trades, and interests and then periodically checked in with students to ask:
What are you passionate about? What causes you to light up with enthusiasm? Not sure? No problem. You can start with that which draws your interest, even if mildly so.
The pursuit of passion is a process of discovery and creation, connection and invention.
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
They Don’t Teach this in School
One thing is certain: focusing on a student’s passions and proclivities is not a part of the current mainstream education system. In fact educating to passion and purpose is a rare thing.
Some magnet schools try to, but they’re often still bound by minimum curriculum requirements and testing. Then there’s the student to teacher ratio where — by necessity of time and personnel resources — all students have to engage in basically the same curriculum of study.
This is a huge advantage in alternative education such as purpose driven education through homeschooling/unschooling/hackschooling scenarios.
Focusing on a student’s innate interests should be the mission of every good education system. Mass education, by definition, can’t do this.
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
They Forgot the Cake… and the Icing
The majority of people do not know what it is they’re truly passionate about. This seems strange and sad, and yet it’s entirely logical. The 12 plus years of schooling that occupies the bulk of the developmental years has nothing to do with discovering passions from the inside out, and everything to do with cramming information from the outside in.
Most of us are never taught in school, how to discover—and focus on—our passions. Interesting isn’t it? That nowhere in our education career, are we asked that all-important life question:
“What are you passionate about?”
But Why?
It Wasn’t an Option Then
Passion pursuit wasn’t considered because it wasn’t an option before. Doing work one loves has not been possible for most people, or not thought to be an option…
Until now.
Most of our parents and grandparents who didn’t have the freedom to choose a passion based career. So how would they know how to teach others to pursue it? It wasn’t in their lexicon.
Today, you can choose what you want to learn and how you want to learn it. You can get certified and trained in any creative endeavor you choose to explore, whether on your own autodidactic pursuit, through alternative education or through a traditional institution.
Today, there are no admissions board, no gatekeepers keeping you from pursuing your passions. Instead, there are infinite options for self and elective education.
You may enjoy reading ‘reasons not to go to college‘.
This is not About Blame or Criticism
This is NOT about blame. It’s about outgrowing old systems and creating newer better ones for the times… for where we are and where we’re going.
“What are you passionate about?” Says almost no school system, ever. Time for a change.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®
10 Components for Today’s Education
As education evolves it will become increasingly capable of responding to individual proclivities and serve to develop those.
The ten areas of training needed for students today, is how to:
- Learn
- Think
- Solve problems
- Eat for fuel
- Exercise for energy and health
- Focus and the nature of the mind/brain
- Meditate, and the science of yoga & breath
- Develop self awareness (and discover passion and purpose)
- Develop empathy and socialization
- Love and contribute
This is the education we need more than anything, to become more fully functioning and balanced humans. So you can see we have a ways to go. If you like this topic, you will also enjoy our article on your zone of genius.
Don’t blame your parents, or your teachers, or the education system.
It’s no one’s fault. The problems in education, and everywhere you look today, are just the growing pains of humanity evolving.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com
The Age of the Artist
For eons, humanity had to focus on survival. Even 50 years ago there was not enough widespread freedom and prosperity to focus on following your heart and discovering your passions. Most of our parents and grandparents didn’t have the freedom to follow their passions. But we do.
Today, is the era of art and innovation… a new age of the artist.
The Ship of Society
Today, the masses in developed nations no longer have to worry daily about survival. However, the societal habit is to continue as we had been… to maintain status quo.
Civilization is a like a giant ship, and giant ships turn very slowly. The “ship” of society is now beginning to shift toward considering individual strengths and proclivities, but it’s a very slow course correct, and the last places to change are the largest institutions.
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
~William Blake, poet, author, painter, printmaker, 1757-1827
Carpe Momentum!
Seize the moment! Don’t wait another day to embark on the daily journey of doing work that matters to you.
Even if it begins for just five minutes at a time, five minutes a day to focus on pursuing the work of your heart can make a difference. Make the most of each moment.
Follow Your Inclinations – Examples of Manifesting Passion
My Passion Synopsis
Today, I’m a writer, editor and media publisher. I didn’t know that would be my passion. But through a circuitous journey, I discovered that.
I could never have predicted the route I would take, but I knew for certain that it would involve the one constant focus of my life: A lifelong passion for helping people overcome their challenges and discover their greater potential, and that it would be in some creative, non-traditional form.
That current form is through writing, coaching, product creation and hosting social groups and pages. That will continue and expand in scope throughout this life, and I’m so grateful for that opportunity and privilege.
My Husband’s Passion Synopsis
My husband, Coleman, became an investment educator in recent time in his late 60’s. He never imagined that he would be an investment expert, let alone coaching others how to. And yet he absolutely loves it.
His constant drivers in life are creating and building, and these take many forms. Now, he does that through helping others build their knowledge and create wealth while continuing to build his own.
He builds and creates through plants and gardening, creating designs, experimenting and engineering creative systems. We have a gardening website that we both contribute to, that serves as a way to help others by sharing what we’re doing and learning.
Coleman is also a published fiction author as another outlet where he can bring his story ideas to life. It’s all creating and creating is building. His “why” is served creatively through various “what’s”.
What’s Before You?
So it’s super important in discovering what you’re passionate about, to pursue the next open door of opportunity that beckons you upward and onward. There will you find the ever expanding vision of your future… of your life.
Let go the past that does not serve you and cast your eyes upon the ever ascending spiral of your future self.
Can you identify one constant thread that has run through your life for as long as you can remember? Is there a precipitating event or experience that brought that to the fore for you, or has it been slowly blossoming into being?
No matter your personal circumstance, you have more freedom today than at any other time in the history of the world, to pursue work you love. The pursuit is up to you.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®
Artists and Entrepreneurs
The age of the artist is here again. The new renaissance… the era of the entrepreneur: Artist entrepreneurs.
This is your time. Today you are free to pursue your passion and do work you love. Don’t waste precious time. Cherish each moment and fill it with the art in your heart.
Today, you are free to pursue your passion and do the work you love.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®
Start or Join a Movement
Smaller, grassroots movements in times of transition are ever that which spring up spry and agile and ready to create something new. We’re seeing this phenomenon everywhere in the world. These movements are spearheaded by entrepreneurs and artists in all genres of creativity.
What creative movement would you start, or join?
If you’re not certain of your passion, that’s normal. You can begin that journey of discovery .
Sometimes the absence of connection to passions, especially in the very young, is simply a lack of exposure to enough varied experiences. Keep heading in the direction of that which intrigues you. Chances are your answers are there.
You can’t see what you’ve never seen.
~Jay Shetty, podcaster, author, former monk, b.9/6/1987
Discovering Passion and Purpose
Some orienting questions to keep in mind as you work on discovering what you’re passionate about.
3 Steps to Discovering Passion and Purpose
List in two columns all the things that come to mind:
- What brings me joy?
- What am I good at?
- Circle the items that appear in both columns
So… What are You Passionate About?
If you’re uncertain on what direction to go in and unclear as to a passion to pursue? It may be a good idea to try a number of different experiences to open your horizon of options.
If you don’t yet know what you want to do with your life, this is where you try lots of things to find the next best thing. This necessarily means that you will have a number of things going on, potentially all at once as you explore.
Don’t rush it. No need to feel anxious. Instead settle into the discoveries in new experiences.
Or… Focus On One Thing
But this general advice is not good advice for someone who is already spread too thin with too much going on. Rather, the advice for them is to focus on one thing most of all in order to bring it to fruition before expanding into the next thing.
But you can continue reflecting, journaling and pondering the yearnings of your heart.
If Overwhelm Overtakes You
Whenever you’re in a state of creative chaos — for whatever reason — don’t go into overwhelm. Just recognize this is the storm before the rainbow.
Taking positive actions in the right direction will alleviate the stress of feeling overwhelmed and help you get unstuck.
Each positive action will help you get unstuck and disentangle from the many into the one or few that become the next chapter for you.
Discovering and Reinventing Yourself
No matter our age, we can perpetually reinvent ourselves into new experiences and levels. In fact to do so keeps us learning and growing, which helps keep us younger!
It’s good to know yourself and your proclivities. For every action we set in motion in the world, we create a need for reciprocal follow up and processing or handling. If you’re prone to easily being overwhelmed, then try one new thing at a time.
For you it might be signing up for how to use Adobe Photoshop toward digital art, but not also a pottery class. Choose the option you’re most drawn to, one at a time. Do them, complete them and then see.
“Your calling will take you farther than your career.”
SOURCE: Impact Theory – Control Your Destiny
~Richard Montañez, Businessman, Visionary
Toward Your Highest
So take this and all advice with a grain of salt. Consider first, if it is helping you toward your highest and best potential. What are you passionate about and Is it moving you closer to your highest vision for your life?
Just strive to be honest with yourself. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s serving your highest good, over temporary desires or emotional states. One way to ensure that you’re aiming toward your best is to avoid making important decisions when you’re tired, stressed or angry.
Also consider the source. Is it someone who is holding you to your highest standards, or is it someone who is letting you off the hook of your aspirations? Don’t sell yourself and your potential short. It will never serve you to do so, but making every effort to rise into your the best you can be will always serve you.
When You Don’t Know What You’re Passion About
Don’t know your passion? Not sure what you’re here to do? That’s okay. Just decide. Decide what you want to do now and start there. If you’re still not sure of what interests you now, then start exploring new arenas of creativity.
It is often said that everyone has something that they’re here to do… destined to do. And that sounds good and resonates for many.
However, for many others it is more a matter of you’re here to decide and choose what to do.
Trouble Deciding?
Do you have trouble deciding? This article on setting daily goals should help. It includes a 7 step process on how to decide.
Meanwhile, know that you don’t have to wait for it to occur to you, or to find your passion. Instead, you can decide to choose what lies ahead.
It is in the doing…. it is in the journey that the way becomes more clear. That forward momentum, is like playing a video game where new doors and levels open to us as we keep moving forward in the “game of life”.
And the choice isn’t permanent if we decide to change it. We can almost always course correct, and indeed that is how we find our way.
Of one thing we can be certain. We are each here to become better versions of ourselves, and we all know how to do that. Begin with the thing you know you should do, and just do it. Do it with joy that you’re making the effort and gratitude that you can.
We are each here to become better versions of ourselves, and we all know how to do that.
It is In the Journey
If your passion is not evident… if your life goal isn’t clear, don’t worry. It’s rare to see any destination before you arrive. Chances are you know the general direction to head in. If not, then try the next positive thing you’ve been thinking about and it may lead you into something greater.
That’s likely your sweet spot or clues to it. So keep asking questions and exploring. Enjoy the journey!
Head for those experiences that reveal joy.
~LeAura Alderson, iCreateDaily.com®
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Hello! I’m LeAura, owner and co-creator of iCreateDaily.com®. As an autodidactic philosopher, generalist, personal development advocate, entrepreneur, writer, editor, author, ideator, media publisher, and podcaster, I’m passionate about helping others achieve their best possible life! Our small family of entrepreneurs, writers, investors, educators and creators own and run websites around topics we enjoy, such as gardening, health and fitness, creativity and pets, with more to come.
While my greatest teacher is Life… my formal training includes certifications in mediation, fitness, and strategic intervention coaching, including marriage and family. Today, the synergy of creating websites, articles and podcasts, brings together all my favorite things: family, learning, growth, creating, connecting and contributing. To share these with you is a privilege, that serves my lifelong aspiration to help others.
My personal areas of creativity are in writing, masterminding, ideation, synthesis and bringing ideas to life through business and entrepreneurship, all with a pervasive spiritual foundation with a focus on elevating the lives of others.
Want to submit your photos, videos and/or article content for publication? We love to consider your contribution for publication! creators@icreatedaily.com