This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »
What is your greatest passion and how have you been able to develop and sustain it?
I am curious about when people developed a long standing passion and what caused them to become inspired by the topic/activity. Did you discover it on your own or was it the result of the modelling of others. Is there greater motivation to act primarily for self improvement or for the betterment of others?
Topics:
Values kindness motivation service volunteerism
Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.
Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.
Jennette Stone
Damien Pollet
Laura Laney
Bob Reckhow
Colleen Steen 500+
I am 65 years of age, and I don't know what I want to be when I grow up either...LOL:>)
I am still exploring every life challenge with passion. We don't need to look for passion, or search for it outside ourselves. Passion is a feeling we can have for everything and anything.
I too have had several careers Bob, and have been fully engaged and passionate about each and every one of them. When something else seemed to pull me in another direction, I was passionate about the new direction. What I've discovered, is that all the passionate paths I've taken have all been eventually interconnected.
I also want it all Bob, and I don't feel that I need to become an expert in anything. I learn, grow and evolve with each and every interaction to the best of my ability at any given time. I have not found the "need to make a living" to "complicate matters". In fact, I find that when I follow an interesting, passionate path, it usually becomes lucrative. I am one of the people who has supported myself with the pursuit of my passions. I think sometimes we build a life, that may provide a living:>)
Melissa Pejsa O'Neal
Sloane Mak
Maybe the above link can help for beginners.
Hi, Jennete, Damien, Laura, Bob.....I hope this helps.
It's difficult to answer all your questions in the scope of a tiny reply. Most of the time we are the ones standing in our own way. Once we remove the programming and conditioning that are not helpful in discovering our inner light; i.e. our fears, our insecurities, our traditions, our need to seek approval, recognition, money and so on and so forth our purpose in life will dawn unto us.
I'm 35 and I have found my purpose quite early on. But it was not one single thing. I simply kept the faith. It was a series of insights i pursued and the experience of one provided the scaffolding I needed (knowledge, experience, skills, maturity, networks, etc) to move on to the next one until the very big dream I had as a child looks like it's really going to take shape.
I would like to describe what my path looks like so others may identify their own path but there's not enough space here.
What it takes to find our dream is different from what we expect it would take. So even when we're actually on the path we diminish our experiences and then the reel has to be reset again and again until we learn to see, to truly be able to see.
One thing I promised myself to do when I started out living only from my dreams is to help other people find their dreams. In my Quest I read so much on the theme of "What Should I Do With My Life" but none of them were helpful. That's when I realize I had to do this : live my dreams then only can I know what it takes. When we allow our Light to shine we give others the permission to shine, is how I think of it.
One clue I can leave here is that our dream is not one single destination; it unfolds over time and it keeps getting better and grander. And that also means u make more and more money the longer u pursue it.
Love and Light -
Laura Laney
Bob Reckhow
I might also try to "reverse engineer" a purpose/passion statement for myself, by looking at the four areas that Pavlina talks about elsewhere in his blog: body (What do I need to do? - necessities, needs, musts [income falls in this area]), mind (What can I do? - capabilities, talents, skills, knowledge, possibilities to learn), heart (What do I want to do? - wants, wishes, desires, dreams), and spirit (What should I do? - conscience, morality, ethics, aspirations, values). My purpose/passion would be the unique aim/direction (not a target or a goal, but my unique "way") that brings the greatest convergence (overlap, commonality, synergy) and balance over those four areas (body, mind, heart, spirit / need, can, want, should) for my own personal needs, capabilities, wants, and shoulds. I don't have any way of knowing if that approach might work unless I try it. ... And like several other people have said in this thread, whether it leads me to the desired outcome or not, it's sure to be fun and enlightening.
Michael M 30+
Yeah Bob, maybe I don't know yet either...what I want to "be"...but finding out sure looks fun.
Colleen Steen 500+
I think you have hit the nail on the head...
Passion is a way of travel...not necessarily a destination:>)
Agustinus Lawandy
Colleen Steen 500+
You are very old...you better hurry up and find passion!!! I'm just kidding:>)
I have always experienced life as an adventurous exploration. Do you remember when you were very young discovering many things for the first time? It was exciting for me. I still explore life with the curiosity of a child. Feeling empty is not a bad thing because then there is all that empty space to fill up with new discoveries:>) Try new things...explore something that interests you...be open minded and open hearted with your explorations.
When you plan for the future by adapting a "future-centered framework", don't forget to leave a door open so you don't box yourself in. Do you understand that idea? Be open to possibilities. What makes your heart sing? What gives you pleasure? Joy? Contentment? Follow your heart, and listen to your logical mind to plan the future framework. Your heart and mind working together is a powerful combination:>)
Agustinus Lawandy
Laura Laney
Colleen Steen 500+
I thought as an older teen, I knew what my life might be like...I thought as a 20 year old I had a plan and knew what my life would be like...things changed...I thought as a 30 year old I knew...things changed...then I was 40...things changed and didn't work out as planned...then I was 50 and I remember having a conversation with a great friend one day...
We decided that we never really know for sure. We can have dreams, ideas and plans for the future, but we never really know. So the best plan I've come up with is to live every moment with passion...as if it might be the last moment of my life.
Colleen Steen 500+
Sounds great to me...how does it FEEL to you?
When I'm feeling "stuck", I usually explore several different things to see what helps me feel "unstuck":>)
Agustinus Lawandy
Colleen Steen 500+
Good to hear from you again:>)
I don't think you are "naive" because you are thinking of many different things, which tells me that you are a wise young person. Do you really think your parents will leave you struggling all by yourself? Perhaps they have given you enough love and protection so you can make good life choices? Try imagining that:>)
Astra Singh 20+
Hopefully this view may be of some help to some.
Pursuing your passion may come from knowing the purpose of life: to learn through exploration, adventure and pleasure. When we come into this world we make the decision as to what we are going to work on in each lifetime. Our soul then lays out options for us. Maybe this time around you felt you needed to work on separation, or guilt, or experience fame, or smooth out self-worth issues etc. The soul will set those vibrations in your energy field to magnetize events that will give you the opportunity to get whatever is needed to be experienced.
Let’s say you chose ‘self-worth’ as your number one issue. How could you tell? Well, if you’ve had many circumstances in which you would question your own worth, e.g. a parent instilling in you that you were stupid or ugly, a rape or molestation, coworkers questioning your capacities, a cheating spouse, being passed over for promotion. Anything that leaves you feeling ‘not being good enough’.
You will need to understand that there is nothing that anybody can say or do to lessen your worth. That there is no such thing as being worth-less.
By looking through understanding glasses to the world and being open to the lessons within your relationships (friends, family, lovers, coworkers, countries, leaders etc.) and all that you encounter in life, you free the destructive energy that keeps you from pursuing your passion. And you may well find your calling in simply sharing your struggles with others and helping them find their purpose and passion.
With respect for your distinctive individual paths,
Astra