This post goes out those who may not have yet found their ‘passion’ in life. The first step in discovering your passion is building momentum. For this phase, your ‘direction’ is not down any one path (how can it be? You don’t know your ‘path’ yet!) For now, your ‘direction’ consists entirely of gaining momentum. If you are doing something new, something productive, something filling your head with knowledge… that’s MOMENTUM, you are on the right track. This is not about simply filling your day with busy work. It is all about attempting new, thought provoking, experiences that could cause you to trip over your passion.
Try anything on the list below:
- Go to the magazine section in a book store (I prefer Barnes and Noble) grab every magazine that even remotely interests you. Find a place to sit down (perhaps buy a coffee). Read at least one article in each magazine. Return magazines to proper location. Repeat.
- Digital variation- find blogs that interest you, read posts, leave at least one comment on each blog.
- Eliminate! Go through everything (literally EVERYTHING) you own. Trim it down. Clothes, games, old things in boxes… you get the idea. Place things into 4 categories- Trash, Donate, Sell, and Keep. Chance are you can toss/donate 1/2 the things you have sitting around without even realizing it (or ever missing any of it). Why do this? The more things you have, the more little micro processes you will find are running in your brain for them. Your mind will clear more than you realize.
- Write 3 emails (right now!) reaching out to contacts you have been meaning to. Possibly explain your situation and ask for advice (or if they know anyone who could help you.)
- Bring your laptop to a local coffee shop with free wifi. Sit there. Read the news, and talk to at least one stranger who is also sitting there. Try not to leave without their contact info. (Business card, cell #, etc.)
- If you are close to any form of train, light rail, or subway system- Hop on. Ride it. Listen to music. Let time pass. Bring a pad of paper and a pen. Write down your thoughts as they come.
A few more things to keep in mind:
- Stop making excuses, and stop justifying your actions to anyone but yourself. Excuses are toxic. It is easy to fool other people about why you can’t do something if you believe it yourself. Be brutally honest about why you are doing what you are doing. Don’t worry about pleasing anyone else (to be honest they most likely don’t care either way).
- Enjoy your day and do what you love. Life is far to short for anything else.
- Make eye contact with (and smile at) strangers.
In part 2 we are going to focus on the art of excuses. Until then, get out there and build momentum!
Do you have momentum? Leave a comment and tell us what you did to gain it!
Think On.
Love this! I’d also suggest that if you are in a great, deep convo with a new acquaintance, that you open yourself up to asking if they can hear the “story” in your story. Those excuses you give for not taking action are often apparent to others, very easily. Sometimes a stranger can hear the truth better than someone close to you, one who is already enrolled in your excuse-circle.
Give it a try sometime! It’s a scary, exciting, and eye-opening experience, and being receptive to someone’s honesty is a remarkable place to let yourself be, especially if you can stand there without making yourself wrong, bad, or inadequate, but just listen.
My momentum is in allowing others to contribute to me, and also being vulnerable. So much is moving for me when I ask questions rather than always feel compelled to answer them.
Great point Kelley! I love the notion of people being enrolled in your ‘excuse-circle’ that’s something I used to refer to as the ‘inside/outside the fishbowl’ perspective, but I like that description much better. My next post is all about excuses, and I will be sure to credit you with this term.
You also made a great point to listen more than you talk in saying that you ask questions more than answer them. This tip alone is one of the most valuable I have ever been given. Thanks for commenting.
Hey Jason,
Yeah, this one’s been on my mind for a while – the good old ‘what’s my passion’ dilemma.
For a long time I think I was too picky and to be honest, a bit insincere with myself when it came to this. I tried so hard for that ‘ah-ha’ moment and thought it would all just snowball from there.
But a simple bit of advice I picked up from Gary Vaynerchuk was to ‘stop doing sh*t you hate’. Pretty obvious advice on the surface, but after thinking about it I was amazed at how many things I was consumed with that I considered important beforehand, but didn’t really get me excited.
So I’ve been slowly but surely identifying and taking out the garbage, so to speak – much like your second point but also including any activity or projects I’ve been engaged in, big or small (The Dip by Seth Godin is a great read on this topic).
Instead of chasing my passion in desperation, I’m trying to just rid my life of the distractions that may be clouding a passion that already exists right in front of me. And by replacing those distractions with the right stimulation – including the tips you’ve mentioned in the post – and concentrating on doing the things that excite me in life, I’m hoping my passion will naturally reveal itself more clearly in time.
I guess that’s how I’m creating my momentum at the moment.
Looking forward to learning more in your coming posts mate.
Cheers,
Justin.