Oprah has a great quote, “Follow your passion; it will lead to your purpose.”
But what if you aren’t one of those people who have always known what they wanted to be when they grow up? Or what if you are, and you’ve since changed your mind?
Societally, we place a lot of emphasis on cultivating passion, and using this abundant kinetic energy as fuel to create prosperity in our own lives and in the world. No disrespect to the almighty Oprah here…but we need to go back a step to equip ourselves with ways to findour passions so that we too can live long and prosper, Spock hand signal and all.
Open your mind
It can be trying to feel like you’ve been searching for your passion and coming up short. Do your best to remain open-minded that your thing is still out there! You can’t expect to find fulfilment if you’ve convinced yourself that it doesn’t exist. Stay open and remain optimistic so that you can manifest opportunities that excite you. Take on the perspective that actually, you cando what you love with your life—no matter your age, your current profession, or any other possible perceived roadblocks. They’re just perceptions, and you have the power to reframe them.
Pause, reflect, distill the feeling
Allow yourself three minutes a day to think about moments or memories that gave you pure bliss. Was it a beach vacation with your children? Achieving a flow state during a task at work? A favorite summer job teaching abroad as a college student?
Reflect on the good times, and let them wash over you. Make like a detective, and try to distill down the key ingredients of the peak moments in your life. Were you happiest when you were serving as a leader in your community? Teaching something of value? Providing an important unique service? Often, your passions speak to more about how you are feeling when you are doing something, versus the something itself.
Go with it! Embrace the new
So now that you’ve open your mind, reflected on your favorite moments and extracted the key elements that brought about your positive feelings in the moments…go with it! How can you get creative to seek out opportunities to expand the good vibes you felt when you peered into in your past? If you loved serving as a leader in your community, consider joining a board or staring up a new culture initiative in the office. If you pinpointed joy in giving back to others, sign up for a fundraiser for a non-profit that resonates with you. Be playful and inventive, and spend your time wisely.
Cultivating your passions can start as a minimal time investment so long as you are tapping into how you’re feeling and continuously checking in with yourself. This may make you realize that things you used to enjoy have become stale, and that’s okay too! If you navigate it all with grace, and like Oprah says, simply follow along, you’ll be sure to find a lovely ride to prosperity.
