Here are some realistic tips for pursuing the things that fuel your soul.
Do you ever feel as though you are meant to do something, even if you’re not exactly sure what it is? Are you drawn to a certain activity to the point that you want to do it all the time? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you may want to explore and follow your passions in a more deliberate way.
The Oxford Dictionary defines passion as “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.” What gets you excited? What activities make you feel alive and satisfied with life?
Some of us can offer an immediate answer. We know without a shadow of a doubt what our passions are. God created us with a love of cooking or a strong desire to help rescue animals. We just know. Some of us have even found a way to turn our passion into a job.
But what if we don’t know what our passions are? Does it really matter?
The Importance of Following Your Passions
Focusing on the things we are passionate about is an important step to feeling happy and fulfilled in our lives. We don’t want to go through life without ever feeling excited about anything! Plus, if we don’t follow our passions—those activities that God has given us a desire to pursue—we may miss out on opportunities that He wants us to experience. We’re all busy, so how do we meet our daily obligations while still following our passions?
6 Steps to Finding What Fuels You and Going After It
1. Make a list of your core values. What aspects of your life are most important to you? Most of us feel passionate about our families, our friends, and our faith. But what other things get you out of bed in the morning? Many of us get excited about personal growth. We love to step out of our comfort zones and try new things. We want to stretch our minds, learn, and live courageously.
If personal growth is a core value for you, what activities could you try? What about giving back? Is that one of your core values? What excites you about helping your community? Look for ways to give back with enthusiasm.
For some of us, creativity is a core value. Do you have creative outlets that you want to explore? Do you feel passionate about crafting, writing, or painting? After you’ve made a list of your core values, make some notes about each one. Write down a few actions you can take to deliberately spend more time working on each value. These actions could become passions in your life.
2. If you have a job, how do you feel about it? Research shows that only about 15% of us feel truly passionate about our jobs. If you’re one of them, how wonderful! But if you’re not, what can you do about it? Obviously, many of us need to work and not everything we feel passionate about lends itself to a paid position. So, in practical terms, what can we do?
To start, look back at your list of core values. We mentioned personal growth, giving back, and creativity as possibilities. Even if you don’t feel passionate about your job, can you incorporate one of your core values into your work life? For example, if you worked as an administrative assistant for an executive in a large company, you might not feel passionate about typing memos and taking phone messages. But what if you spoke to your boss about organizing a company fundraiser for a cause about which you feel passionate? Wouldn’t that bring a jolt of energy to your work life? When you remain positive and look for ways to incorporate your values into your job, it can help you follow your passions and feel more excited about what you do each day.
3. Find ways to follow your passions in your free time. I know, you’re thinking, “What free time?” We’re all busy, but if we really examine our schedules, we’ll find pockets of time we can use to pursue the things that fuel our souls. If you don’t find the time, you’ll have to make it. Reduce the amount of time you spend watching TV so you can pursue a creative outlet or volunteer with an organization you find meaningful. At the end of the day, you’ll feel so much better when you spend your free time—even if it’s limited—on your passions.
4. Spend time with people with passions like yours. Join groups — whether in person or online — of people who enjoy the same things you do. Seeking friendships based on similar passions can be so gratifying. Just sharing your feelings with someone who can relate can feed our souls and make us feel heard and understood.
5. Turn your hobbies into passions. If knitting is a hobby and you feel enthusiastic about helping others, you can follow your passions by looking for ways to contribute warm items or teach others to knit. We all spend time on our hobbies anyway, so it just makes sense to find ways to spread the love. It will give you a greater desire to do the things you enjoy and make you feel more fulfilled. It’s a complete win-win.
6. Pray about it. Ask God if there’s something He wants you to do and ask Him to help you find a way to pursue it. God created you, and He knows your passions. After all, He gave them to you! If you ask Him, He’ll help you discover your passions and incorporate them into your life.
Pursuing your passions in a realistic way is all about finding a balance between the things you need to do and the things you want to do. It’s not always easy to find time for the things you feel passionate about, but it’s worth it. God wants you to be excited about your life, and a big part of that is discovering what you feel passionate about and taking the time to follow your passions all the way to your deepest sense of purpose.
