6 Reasons Why You Have Not Yet Identified Your Passion

Few people know what they are passionate about, while the majority may not have even thought that they are capable of being passionate about anything. When people have no idea what they are passionate about, it is usually because they have not thought about the subject strongly and haven’t considered the possibilities.

We don’t put enough importance on the need to figure out what we are passionate about as much we do on choosing a career. That is also one of the reasons why many people are stuck in mundane jobs that suck them dry. Identifying your passion gives you a chance to make a career in something you love. When you enjoy what you do, life becomes much easier. 

Identifying your passion is the first step toward finding out a way of turning it into a lucrative business opportunity that will excite you to work every day. Even if you don’t want to turn it into business, knowing your passion gives you a purpose to enjoy life. Let’s look at the six typical reasons why you may have not yet identified your true passion yet.

1. Blinded by long-term life goals

Sometimes, people tend to be blinded by long-term goals they have set for their life that they forget to nurture their passions as well. And if you are such a person, then you need to quickly learn how to not let your life goals take over your entire day-to-day existence and deprive you of the opportunity to focus on your passions.

For example, you might have set a goal of becoming the regional manager of your company within the next 6 years. And for this, you may have to dedicate a lot of your time working on your current job and meeting the company’s expectations. While this is an admirable goal, there are, as they say, two sides to the coin.

You are so focused on your goal of becoming a manager that you end up never making time for your hobbies and passions. As such, the only way to identify your passion is to relax with your work times. Manage time more effectively so that you don’t sacrifice your life goals, but at the same time, have enough time left over to explore and identify your life’s passion.  

2. Unwillingness to change

Resistance to change can also be a major reason why you have not yet identified your passion. In order to know what you are passionate about, it is imperative that you try out new things. Otherwise, you might never know about your inherent talents and fulfilling hobbies.

For example, only when you try out gaming will you know whether you like it and are passionate about it or not. If you keep neglecting to try it because you think it’s a ‘kid’s thing,’ then you are blocking yourself from experiencing something new and discovering a passion you might not have known existed.

As such, the inability to change your current ways of life and neglecting to take part in new experiences is a behavior that you should get rid of as quickly as possible.

3. Scared of other people’s opinions

When you are scared of what others think, you tend to act in a way that complies with their sense of right and wrong. And this can have devastating consequences, one of which is that you will never truly understand your capabilities and passion. Since the focus of such a person is to never commit an act that might attract negative attention from other people, they will have to sacrifice a lot of things.

For example, if a child’s parents see academics as solely being the ‘right path’ for their child, and have a negative view of arts and sports, then that kid is likely to focus more on their studies rather than trying out painting or basketball. As a consequence, the child will never ever find whether they have a talent for artistic or athletic things.

And if you also have been restricting yourself from trying something because you were afraid of other people’s opinions, then you should come out of such negative habits. Keep such people at a distance in your life and go explore new things. You will surely find something that ignites your passion.

4. Too many ‘passions’

Having too many ‘passions’ is also detrimental in identifying your key passion. In most cases, these are not passions but fleeting interests. A person with such a habit will keep on trying new things, but will never become attached to any single activity. Nor will they improve.

You may be interested in basketball right now, but might soon switch over to studying anthropology, then might start focusing on pencil sketching, and so on. This constant jumping from one activity to another means that you will never know where your real passion lies.

Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut way to get out of such a habit. However, one of the positive attributes of this is that, since you are constantly trying out new areas, it is inevitable that you come across something that immediately connects with you and makes you dedicated.

5. Not confident in yourself

People who lack confidence also tend to do rather badly when it comes to identifying their passion. This largely stems from the fact that their lack of confidence stops them from doing new things. They are usually very scared by failure that the prospect of failing at something will discourage them from trying it out.

Only after a decent effort, will you know if this is something you can pursue. Some things are truly out of reach for many people but test your limits from time to time. Maybe you would have done great and immediately developed a passion that would have lasted a lifetime. But because of your lack of confidence, you avoid trying it out, missing opportunity after opportunity to discover your true calling.

6. Too much focus on a single passion

Some people tend to believe that humans should have a single passion that has a hold over them for life. This is not necessarily true. While a few are mostly dedicated to a single passion throughout their lives, others are likely to have multiple passions.

As such, blindly expecting to find one great passion might make a person tend to overlook the passions they already have. Maybe they are already interested in painting and gaming. But if they keep searching for a soul burning singular passion, they might end up neglecting their existing interests while never finding the singular passion they are looking for.

Takeaway

Relax a bit and enjoy what attracts your attention. Slowly, you will see that you are indeed passionate about something in your life. And whether your interest lies in a few areas or a single hobby is irrelevant. You just need to find something that triggers positive emotions in you.