I finally got around to brewing some beer for the first time in over half a year. I can’t believe it took me so long to get back to it. Time has a real asshole way of getting away from us. I brewed a pretty simple white IPA for the spring, with tons of New Zealand varietal hops. My hope it this beer will have tons of fruit aromas with a touch of body and moderate bitterness. If all goes as planned, it will be a great beer to take on a hike or to the beach very soon. If all doesn’t go to plan I’ll still be drinking it with mostly a smile on my face.
The brew session definitely didn’t go exactly the way I wanted it to. My mash temperature ended up being too high, I had a boil over while I was trying to fix my pump, I lost some volume somewhere, and it was much more stressful than I had expected. Looking back on it, though, I have some really good take-aways. This system is still relatively new to me, so each session has taught me something new about the setup. I went ahead and ordered two new marsh pumps because the pump I was using was wayyyy too strong for my needs. I figured out that I need to use one specific kettle for my mash tun because of where the temperature probe is located. For some of these things, the only way I could have learned about them is from actually using the setup. Even if I know I may have to dump a batch or two while I’m figuring it out, I have to brew with it. The worst thing that could happen is I could fail, but I won’t know unless I try. All too many times, people allow themselves to stagnate and do nothing because they’re too afraid they will fail. The irony is that failure is what teaches us to be better. Don’t be afraid of failure, be afraid of not trying.
So, why do I love brewing so much if it comes with this stresses and the possibility of failure?
When I tell people about all the things that can and have gone wrong with my brew sessions, I know there is a part of them that wonders why I keep at it at all. Beer, the science behind brewing, the history or beer, and the community that comes with being a brewer are just a few of the things that remind me why beer is my passion. Having passion for something is, in my opinion, is one of the most important keys for finding your own happiness. Having passion for something gives us motivation to work towards a goal, to learn a new skill, to experience life as it is happening. Having a passion can give us purpose. Having purpose makes us happier.
How do you know what you are passionate about?
I believe it’s easier than everyone thinks to identify what you’re passionate about or what gives you purpose in life. For many people, it’s their children, which is a fantastic purpose. I’ve personally seen people, at their absolute worst, turn their life around once they have children. For others, it can be religion or spirituality. There is no perfect answer when questioning what your passion is. Tons of people are passionate about multiple things and that’s absolutely okay, too. If you can’t think of something you’re passionate about, ask the people close to you in your life. I would bet they could tell you that thing you always want to talk about, a certain topic you know more about than all your friends, the place all your conversations end up heading towards. Find out what your passion is and chase it to the ends of the earth. Your passion can lead to your purpose and we, as a species, live our best lives in an environment where we have purpose. Without it, you’re missing out on more happiness than you realize.
What are some of the things that drive you? How far will you go to fulfill your purpose? Name a few people that you could call and ask them what drives you, what makes you unique?
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A version of this post was previously published on GoFindYourHappy and is republished here with permission from the author.
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