3 Surprising Reasons Worrying About Finding Your Passion In Life Isn’t Helpful

“Passion does not fall out of the sky for everyone so keep your eyes on your own paper (or social media)”

When I was younger I wanted to be a lawyer, teacher, aeronautical engineer, physician, and so many other things. One of my nieces wanted to be a professional waitress. Well, as it turns out neither one of us became those things except I did find my way into the medical field in a different discipline. In the early years of my career, I enjoyed it but I can’t say for sure I was passionate. The passion grew over the years. I honestly don’t think I was really all that worried about being passionate either because I was more concerned about letting other people down. In my later years, I have noticed that now I want to be passionate about what I do and that the younger generation is seeking to live and work in their chosen calling earlier rather than later. So, let’s take a look at 3 reasons why worrying about finding your passion may actually be counterproductive.

1. Being present is important to get a full understanding of what you really want. If you are always looking for someone or something better you might miss what is right in front of you.
2. Mastery comes with time. There are times when resistance or dislike comes from the sheer fact that we are not “good” at something. Some things take time. Allow me to give an example. I love to tap dance, but I didn’t always love it. When I first started I was terrible and almost quit, but I pushed through and now I love it. This is what Angela Duckworth writes about in her book, Grit. Not everything just comes to you. Some things take persistent practice and work.
3. Passion does not fall out of the sky for everyone so keep your eyes on your own paper (or social media). It really is trial and error. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Yes, some people are just seemingly born to do certain things. It doesn’t mean there isn’t something purposeful for you to do. Consider it a mission to explore, an expedition.

The bottom-line

Worrying is guaranteed to provoke stress, anxiety, and frustration. The myth that you “should” already know your passion is false. Keep exploring. Who knows, it could be you are passionate about being versatile and skilled in many areas. It’s your story to write, your life, you live it!