What makes you get out of bed in the morning? If nothing has been exciting you lately, it wouldn’t be surprising that maybe your life lacks a little bit of passion. Passion is what drives us to learn new things and challenge ourselves while we get to enjoy life. Whether it’s in our work or in play, we’ll share how to find your passion in your career or in your hobbies.
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How to Find Your Passion in 2024
1. Look towards what you’re drawn to
Naturally, there’ll be things you naturally find yourself drawn to. Think about all the things you find yourself being captivated by. Maybe you like watching plays at the theater. Every time you watch a show, your heart dances and your soul awakens. Reflect on all the things that give you instant joy and happiness. Even if it seems like there isn’t a direct career path to it, you might find that it’s still part of a broader industry that you can join or be part of. Everything has commercial value to someone. Look towards things that bring magic into your life or things that excite you about the possibilities of a future version of yourself embarking on that path. If you're captivated by something it’s clear that you’re destined for something in that direction.
2. What makes you want to start today
Often, when something is our passion we’re not planning it for some mystical future date. We want to do it now. Is there something you keep daydreaming about? If you’re not doing it right now, it’s possible that you’re not passionate about it. When finding your passion, it’s about something being so all consuming in your life that you have the urge to do it right away. You can’t stop thinking about it. All you want to do is that one thing. It almost becomes an obsession, an identity for yourself around it. So, if something is calling on you desperately to take the first step, it could very easily be the passion you’re looking for. If you keep daydreaming about it, you’ll never make a career out of it.
3. Consider what you enjoy spending money on
There are some things in life that we enjoy spending money on that we can turn into our passion. A person who loves spending money on food could make baking or cooking their passion. While someone who’s obsessed with shopping can make a career out of being a personal stylist for people looking for clothing for events. There are clues within your spending habits on what you’re passionate about. Or at least what you value in life. Use your spending habits as clues and directions in which you can take your career. You can turn your passion into a thriving business or cool new job for yourself just by looking at your most common expenses.
4. Think about what you love talking about
Do you find yourself always talking about a specific topic? If you’re always chatting away about something you could turn it into a profitable passion. For example, people obsessed with celebrity gossip can get a job as a celebrity blogger for a media outlet. If you love talking about something or people tell you to stop talking about something all the time, it could be a good indicator of a passion for you. You could turn the subject into talking about something into a YouTube channel, a job as a therapist, a motivational speaker, or an online course instructor. There’s so many jobs where all you do is talk about a specific subject or topic all day long, you can use something you enjoy talking about to channel you into a career you’re passionate about.
5. Look at skills you’ve developed
There’s so many skills you’ve probably developed in your life. Most people would say look at what you’re naturally talented at to find your passion. But often, “natural talent” is actually years of effort and experience built up to learn and master something. And typically, all those years of hard work put into something are due to passion. If you’ve spent years of your life dedicated to learning something and you enjoyed learning it, it could be the big passion you’re looking for. You could turn it into a career in various ways. For example, a violinist could create music on Spotify, teach violin online, sell concert tickets for local events, and more.
6. Are there things that make you happy?
When something makes you really happy it’s a sign that it could be your passion. Maybe being kind to others makes you feel so good about yourself. Every day, you go out and spread kindness and positivity to everyone you interact with. You might turn this into a career by working at a charity for a cause you’re obsessed with. Or you could become an influencer or speaker sharing kind messages online to spread more positivity into the world. Things that make you happy may not seem like there’s a way to turn them into a thriving career, but you really can turn something that makes you happy into something you do professionally. Whether it’s a kind gesture or a hobby you’ve done for fun, things that make you happy can be a great starting point for finding your passion.
7. Ask for feedback from others
If you’re still kind of stuck on things you’re interested in, you might turn to others for their suggestions. Maybe you ask your parents what they think your passion is. Or maybe you take a different approach altogether and ask people about their passions. Does someone talk about something they love with so much enthusiasm that you’re excited to try it out yourself? Maybe they tell you about how cool something they’re interested in is, how lucrative it is for a career, or how much growth you’ll experience while doing it. These can all pique your interest in something new that you’ve yet to explore.
8. Look to your childhood
When reflecting on the best ways to find your passion, consider looking towards your childhood experiences. Children love to play, and passion can often feel like play. You’re so immersed in doing something, you lose track of time, and you never want the excitement of it to stop. Think back to all those childhood experiences that you loved to do. Maybe you were constantly writing songs for the band you made with your friends. Or you were constantly drawing pictures in a notepad. You could’ve been obsessed with playing video games with friends after school or digging your nose in books about science. Either way, no matter what kind of kid you were, there are insights that your childhood could give you about what path you should take to find your passion in life.
9. Seek ideas based on your network
Often, our circle of friends influences what kind of hobbies and interests we develop. What are the things that tie you to your network or community at large? Do you and your friends go to the gym together? Or maybe you love to go to movies and talk about them in high-level detail at dinner afterwards? There are career paths you can take from these simple things you do with friends. Sometimes, your best friend could be the person you start a YouTube channel or podcast with just to share your common interests together. No one says you have to do your passion solo. So, if you look towards your friendships and what you all love doing together, there could be a string tying you and your best friend to a passion that turns out to be your greatest career opportunity.
10. Forge connections between things you enjoy
Sometimes, finding your passion can be done by tying two different things together. Maybe you take something you do constantly and tie it to a revenue stream to make it profitable. Or you take something and build an audience around it. Taking two things you like and combining them can become a lucrative passion for you. It can be a unique way to enjoy something by turning it from a passion you do for fun into a passion you can transform into a career, business, or side hustle.
11. Take personality tests
A personality test like Myers-Briggs or Enneagram can be one way to find your passion. When you do these tests honestly, you’ll get directed to a description of your personality type. Often, you can find career options people with these personalities usually have. You might look through them and realize you have some genuine interest in some of the career paths, giving you an indicator of what you think you might like. You can also do online quizzes for career ideas to find options for career types based on your interests and what those career paths entail. These don’t have to be the options you choose, but they can lead your thinking into the direction that aligns with the examples you’re shown based on your answers to personality tests or online quizzes.
12. Partner with a career coach
A career coach or even a life coach can be helpful when it comes to helping people discover their passion. They might sit down with you to discuss your life to better understand who you are as a person, what motivates you, and all the possible interests you may have that could lead to finding your passion. Maybe your passion is related to an interest but is within an area you’ve yet to discover. A career coach specializes in all areas of a career allowing them to find connections or opportunities that might pique your interest. They might suggest you try certain hobbies or watch videos on specific topics to help you find your passion.
What to do once you’ve found your passion
1. Overcome your fears
Maybe deep down you do know what your passion is. But something is holding you back. It could be your fear of the unknown, a fear of failure, or a fear of actually becoming who you’re destined to be. To go out and live your passion, you need to take a small first step. But in everyone’s head, they imagine the first step to really be a huge leap. We overemphasize the magnitude of taking the first step in a positive direction. Oftentimes, when we create our first piece of content, build our first robot, sign-up for a gym membership, or do anything for the first time, it’s pretty underwhelming. And you realize you had built more anticipation for what could go wrong when really the first step is just your opportunity towards something better. But you’re not great yet. You’re still just a beginner dabbling, learning, playing, testing, and growing. Don’t let the fear of the first step block you from becoming great at something new.
2. Develop some skills or certification in the area
Once you find your passion, it’s time to develop some skills or certification in the area. You should consider doing a short boot-camp or online program to quickly learn the fundamentals of your passion. You could also pick it up as a hobby to practice doing it. Investing in learning the inner workings of the passion will allow you to truly master it at some point. Find out all the boundaries of where you can take this passion to truly make it enjoyable to continue learning for years to come.
3. Update your resume and apply to jobs
Once you’ve found your passion, taken the first step, and learned the basics, you can look for a job to land your dream job. If you’re passionate about something you’ll want to do it all the time. You can use a tool like Huntr to create your resume, tailor it using AI, autofill applications, and organize your job search by using a kanban board to track applications and interviews. Applying to jobs in the area of your passion will allow you to wake up doing something you’re going to love. You’ll feel more excited and passionate about learning, growing, and building your skill set knowing that you’ve finally found something that fits your life and fills you with joy. If you’re looking for jobs in the area of your passion, sign up for Huntr today.
Nicole Martins Ferreira
Nicole Martins Ferreira, Senior Writer at Huntr, brings a rich background in marketing, tech, and ecommerce to craft insightful content on job search strategies and career advancement. With experience from Super Magic Taste to Shopify, she excels in creating engaging, actionable advice for job seekers.
Nicole's expertise in SEO and content marketing, honed across diverse roles, enables her to effectively guide individuals through the complexities of the job market. Her contributions at Huntr are vital, offering readers valuable tips and strategies to navigate their professional journeys successfully, making her work an invaluable resource for job seekers everywhere.