How to Find and Cultivate Your Passion in Life

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There are perhaps few things more important than finding purpose in your life. It can be difficult to discover something to be passionate about, and even rarer to be able to follow and devote yourself to that passion. This does not have to be limited to a mere pastime or career; cultivating a passion for living and for other people can add immeasurable meaning to one’s existence.

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How to Find and Cultivate Your Passion in Life

How to Find and Cultivate Your Passion in Life

Cultivating your passion, whether for something you love or just life in general, requires more than finding a new hobby. It demands thorough introspection, a deep look into your desires, life goals, character, and personality. Being passionate is to experience life at a higher volume, to find the spark that ignites a fire in your chest.

Discovering what you love
The first step is to discover what it is you’re passionate about. Passions are a subjective and personal thing. You must ask yourself: What is it that you love and desire most? Is it an activity? Blogging? A philosophy? Creating something? Your family?

Passions are often embedded in the subconscious; they are already present but sitting dormant. Tap into this subconscious. What do you lie awake at night thinking about? What do you dream about? What do you find your mind wandering towards throughout the day? Take note of these things. Your passion might be hiding there, waiting to be found.

Discovering what you’re good at
Another way to discover your passion is to find something at which you naturally excel. Perhaps you are naturally athletic and love being active. Maybe you have excellent rhythm and a great ear for music.

Perhaps you can weave ingredients together in the kitchen like an artist mixes paint. It may be that you have a connection with animals or children and love caring for them, or that they are naturally drawn to you.

Your passion may lie in something you can already do well — and you may not even know it yet. Don’t be afraid to explore and experience new things. You may find yourself becoming passionate about something you haven’t tried yet.

When you grow old, what will you wish you had tried?
Nobody likes to dwell on the topic of death, but one of the surest ways to discover your passion and purpose in life is to simply ask yourself: “Before I die, what will I regret not doing? What will I wish I had accomplished or at least tried?”

This is far more than a mere “bucket list” of activities such as skydiving or bungee-jumping. It could be something like leaving a successful farm or business to your kids, having a big family, or rescuing animals — something on which, at the end, you will look back and smile. What will your legacy be? What will you leave behind for future generations?

Find the answers to these questions and you may find the inspiration for living your life to its fullest potential. As 19th-century painter Vincent Van Gogh once said, “I would rather die of passion than of boredom.”