Think about this. You and I have the awesome fortune of knowing that we could be doing more to live a fulfilled life. This pursuit is a privilege.
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How to find your passion in two words.
First word: “Try.”
Second word: “Stuff.”
Passion is not found in a vacuum.
Passion follows action, not the other way around. Passion isn’t something that’s fed to you on a silver spoon. Passion is earned. Passion is found out there.
Are you intentionally searching for your passion?
Congratulations! You’re in the minority.
If you’ve been in the self-development world for long, this topic is one of the first–and most common–topic that we talk about. It might even be part of the marketing message that piqued your interest in self-development. So it may seem that everyone is searching for that passion.
Worse, it may seem like everyone except you has found it!
Sometimes I have to remind myself that not everyone has been exposed to the idea of searching for passion in work and life. It’s new to many, and unknown to most.
Part of why so few are pursuing their passion is because they didn’t know they could. We should consider ourselves fortunate that we’re aware of such an awesome pursuit, and we would do well to relish every moment of the chase.
Pursuing passion is a privilege.
Think about this. You and I have the awesome fortune of knowing that we could be doing more to live a fulfilled life.
Ask the generations before you if they followed their passion.
That’s exactly what I did with my father and grandfather. When I asked my dad if he followed his passion in work, he told me that passion wasn’t something he learned about until recently. Being an entrepreneur like my father, I was surprised by his answer.
Following your passion and doing what you love are popular themes in entrepreneur literature, at least nowadays. However, that wasn’t true when my father started out.
My grandfather’s answer was even more striking to me. He replied, “We didn’t have time to follow our passion. We had wars to fight.” He’s not a cynical man at all, and his answer might ring true for your grandparents too.
Grandpa didn’t stop there. He went on, “And if you asked my father–your great grandpa–he probably wouldn’t even understand the question!”
We’re fortunate to be able to afford the luxury of the pursuit of passion, aren’t we?
Treat your pursuit of passion as a privilege, just as you would any other privilege.
What do you personally consider a privilege?
One of my favorite things to do is taste beer. Wine and spirits are fun too, but my favorite is to taste beer. I’m not a professional beer critic, I don’t have a blog about it, and I don’t brew my own. To me, tasting different beers is something I do with friends to celebrate each other’s accomplishments.
To me, beer tasting is a privilege.
Think about a privilege you have. Don’t you value that privilege?
If pursuing your passion is a privilege, then the pursuit is what’s truly valuable.
Then why do we get so bummed about not finding our passion?
We are fickle folks, you know. We often want what we don’t have, especially if it means more of what we already possess.
If you’re like me, you might catch yourself comparing yourself to others who seem lightyears ahead of you. I’d be a liar to claim that I’ve squashed every thought like that out of my poor little brain. In fact, I was experiencing a tremendous amount of frustration with my business just before I sat down to write this. Things didn’t feel as if they were moving fast enough and we weren’t as big as I wanted it to be.
But I caught myself! And I gave myself a little reminder that was passed onto me by a friend. Would you mind if I shared his advice with you?
After calling me an idiot in the most loving way possible, he said, “Stop comparing your blooper reel to somebody else’s highlight reel.”
You’re no idiot, of course! If you were, then you wouldn’t be diligently pursuing your passion. Does it seem like everyone else has found their passion? Don’t believe it. Most haven’t, and many will never even pursue it. I’m proud of you, and I hope you are proud of you too.
More beer, more action, more passion.
I’m not a doctor. I’m also not advocating that you should drink more beer! Nor am I suggesting that more beer leads to more passion, although I suppose it sometimes does. But you may be surprised how my beer tasting privilege reflects your pursuit of your passion.
Sometimes when I’m sniffing, swishing, and swallowing different varieties of beer at a tasting, I leave the table without falling in love with any of the samples. It happens! On the flip side, there are times when I would fall in love with every beer I tried.
That is the simple nature of passion. Sometimes you find what you love, and other times you don’t. On the days we don’t find our passion, we should be happy that we have the privilege of pursuing it.
And here’s one more thing.
If I had never sat down at the table, I would have never had a shot at finding my new favorite beer.
Remember, passion will follow action, not the other way around.
Try.
Stuff.
I’m rooting for you.
Photo Cred: Flickr/Anthony Easton