Blogging from A to Z Challenge: P is for Passion

My theme for the Blogging from A to Z challenge is Creativity. Find your passion, and you’ll find your creativity.

You can’t create something new, exciting, and unique to yourself unless you are passionate about it.

What if you don’t have that passion? How do you “find” it?

There’s lots of advice out there on getting your passion back, or finding it in the first place.

In this article, Martha Beck says finding passion “isn't like bagging an expensive trinket; it's like leaving comfortable, familiar terrain behind us and throwing ourselves into the sea. Many of us avoid taking the plunge. We turn away from the ocean, ignoring the roar of breakers, refusing to notice how our hair prickles when we smell the salt water.”

She says we must heed the “yeah” that moves us toward our passion, and ignore the “but” that stops us.

I really love this sentiment Susan Biali, M.D. wrote in this article for Psychology Today: “Discovering what you love most is an adventure in itself.”

Her “five steps to finding your passion” can be very helpful if you’re stuck, unable to take the plunge, or simply don’t know what your passion is. Here are the highlights from her article:

1. Inventory your talents. Everyone has something that they’re good at. Maybe you aren’t an artist, or writer, or scientist. But maybe you are great with kids. Or you have an affinity with dogs or other animals. What about cooking or baking? Gardening? Sports? Do you enjoy helping others in various capacities? “Discovering what you love” and what you’re good at will lead you to your passion.

2. Pay attention to who annoys you or makes you jealous. I wouldn’t have thought of this, but Biali’s point is if you’re jealous of what someone is doing with their lives, that may mean it’s something you long to do as well.

3. Think of what you loved to do as a child. I think this is a great suggestion. When we’re young, we’re basically free of judgments and inhibitions. We know what we like and we pursue those things with passion. I loved to paint and draw as a child, and I started out in college as an art major. Then the reality of paying bills set in, so I changed my studies to something more practical. These practicalities often take us from our passions, and we need to make those connections again.

4. Notice when you hate to stop doing something. Are you immersed in some project, and you suddenly realize a lot of time has passed? Maybe what you’re working on is something you’re passionate about.

5. See your passion hunt as a fun, joyful adventure. The more open you are, the more fun you have, the more likely you are to find your passion.

Is there something you feel particularly passionate about? If you’re still trying to find your passion, how is your search going?