One of the burning questions we often ask ourselves is; What is my passion? Am I doing the things which I’m passionate about? Well this question is very rational provided the formula we have been taught since we were very young. We were taught to follow our passion, and that passion would drive you towards success, thus leaving you with a fulfilling life. But will this formula truly work for you?
Passion is ever-changing
For starters look into your childhood. When you were a kid one of the most frequently asked questions would be, what do you want to be when you grow up? Now if you really decompose this question, you’ll find that they are actually asking “What are you passionate about?” in a way that a five-year-old can understand. We as kids would often answer this saying that we want to be a doctor, an engineer or a very few saying that we want to be an artist or a teacher.
Look at your present self. Are you the person you wanted to be when you were five years old? Well if you are, good for you. Whether you are or not however, ask yourself, how many times have I changed my career or field before getting to this point? You might probably figure out that your passion had changed along the way. So then will that formula work? Because if your passion can change, you will never feel successful and thus, you would never feel fulfilled.
You don’t create a life and then live it
In schools we do a number of different subjects before we select the ones we truly are interested in doing. We do a few sports before we realize that we are good at one of them. When we are looking for a career we often take a number of career paths before finding the one that fits you well.
Now imagine, what would happen if you thought that you would never go to school until you know what subjects you are passionate about? Will you ever be educated? Or imagine if you decide to stay unemployed until you create your perfect career path. Would you ever be employed? This is exactly why the above formula wouldn’t work.
Because you don’t create a life and then live it, you create a life by living it.
You don’t identify your passion and then build your life around it, instead you find your passion by living your life.
The new formula to find passion
So how does finding you passion work then? Well observe the answer people often give when their asked what their passion is, people often say their passion is to serve other people. Well if you are a person who gives this answer, congratulations! You are already awesome, because that is where this formula starts.
Explore the world, instead of exploring what you are interested about. Find ways to satisfy other people and meet their needs, instead of looking for things that meet your interest. As Rotaractors we know well too much that the smile and satisfaction we see in the faces of the people whose needs are met, keeps us feeling successful. This feeling of success ignites our passion to do more and thus, leaves us feeling fulfilled.
The formula to discovering your passion is simple; Do something valuable, and passion would follow.
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Rtr. Promodhya Abeysekara Co – Editor 2017/18 |
