What the fuck even is a passion?
I felt like there was something I was missing, some crucial key to success and finding the path to success that I wasn’t relating with.
You see, for a while now I had felt overwhelmed, disappointed in myself that I had not yet identified a crystal clear ‘passion’. Sure, I had interests such as writing, creating humour, connecting with people, fitness. But I felt let down by the notion of one single true ‘passion’. I was angry with myself and filled with doubt and self-doubt as to whether I really had what it took to make it big.
To create a life worth living and a story worth remembering.
To truly impact people.
To design my life on my terms.
Then, a few days ago, I listened to an episode on an podcast called Impact Theory, hosted by Tom Bileyu. Apart from being one of the smartest, helpful and inspiration entrepreneurs out there, there was something that Tom and his guest mentioned that stuck with me.
That gave me hope.
And it should give anyone else out there feeling stuck some hope as well.
Tom and his guest, Cal Newport, discussed a wide range of things, including the role and effects of social media in our present world, but the thing that really stuck with me was that the notion of having one true passion that we need to go for an “archaeological dig” for is bullshit. And anyone that does claim that they do have a passion, has already gone through a process that has brought them to that realisation.
But this podcast, along with other things, helped me come to a calming and exciting realisation.
For many of us, we aren’t born with a overriding, burning ‘passion’. We need to build up to it. How?
We need to lower the bar. Start low. Look for a few interests that you have that you think you would like to learn more about or get better at. This may be fitness, writing, creating videos, rapping, taking photos, your sense of style, making slime, learning about ants, literally anything.
Then once we have got these areas of interests, just start doing more with them. Learn more about them, practice them, practice doing them. The bar needs to slowly rise up as you become better at them, as you learn and acquire their skills and knowledge, and eventual mastery.
Passion comes with the process of mastery.
It’s in the journey of becoming great at something.
This journey will not be full of pumping energy and rainbows though. There will be times, days, moments and split seconds when you do not feel like doing ANYTHING to work on your areas of interest. Or on yourself. In those split-second decisions is where you need to man the fuck up and MOVE FORWARD ANYWAY.
Andy Frisella, who I have mentioned multiple times throughout my blog, says this perfectly in his podcast Living your Passion Isn’t Rainbows and Unicorns, The MFCEO Project, Episode 43. To quote Andy:
“Living your passion is making a decision to go through something that you have interest in, that you can become an expert in, and that you can remain enthusiastic about on average over the course of time, that will push you through the times when you’re financially not making it”.
Start with an interest or hobby. But beware. An interest will not always turn into a passion. It may well just stay an interest, and we need to stay grounded and accept that fact.
Sometimes the interest that you really wish might amount to a passion won’t work out. That’s okay, because now you know there is another interest lurking in your life to explore. Just because you like playing golf or making castles out of cardboard on the weekend doesn’t mean you’ll become a professional golfer, or an Instagram cardboarder.
But you never know till you try, right?
So, identify your interests, and just start working on them. Set a course of learning, towards mastery and adjust when necessary.
Realise the passion comes through the process.
And relax. I’m talking to you, the reader, and myself, the writer.
Relax, because as long as you keep taking steps each day in a forward direction with intention and effort, time will compound the process and it’ll come.
It’ll come.
Misha, N.Y.A
Awesome resources that I learnt from and that cover this topic:
Something Small
Will my dreams backfire?
Or will I rage forward like a river
Moving forward,
not slow and not awkward
Are they going to accept me
Cos I’m sorta not normal?
I don’t think I am
If you're reading this,
I bet you're not too.
Keep striving and pushing
Don't stop, you'll get through
Please believe in what you do
Don't get forced by anyone
Into a life that isn't you.
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