One of the main reasons that many twentysomethings tend to develop a feeling of being “stuck” in their Quarterlife years is because they don’t feel a sense of passion about what they’re doing with their lives and the direction they’re heading. A lot of us enter the “real world” with grand dreams of ultimate success and happiness and a positive expectation about our careers and lives ahead of us, yet it’s very common to ultimately experience a sense of disillusionment when we don’t reach a place of fulfillment with what we’re doing or where we’re going. Regarding many aspects of life, It’s common to hear many twentysomethings say “I just want to find something I’m truly passionate about,” yet they don’t know where to start looking. Fortunately, there are countless ways to find and pursue everything that you are passionate about, and all it takes is a bit of courage and dedication to take the steps to follow what’s in your heart. Finding what you are truly passionate about can be a real challenge, but not a challenge that’s impossible to overcome. Sometimes fully pursuing your passion is seen as a negative thing, since many young and idealistic people are told that it’s often not practical. It’s common for many twentysomethings to be told that taking care of the sensible realities of life should be a priority. Meaning, pay the bills first and then hopefully you can have the opportunity and freedom to follow your dreams. While the realities of this are sometimes unavoidable, what better time to at least explore your opportunities and passions than when you’re in your twenties? With enough determination and patience, you can gain the courage to pursue all of your hopes and dreams and passions, no matter how big or small they may be.
Every person can find something they're passionate about. Something that gets them excited, breathless and makes their heart pound. Whether it exists in their current lives or not, everyone is looking for something that gets them anxious to get out of bed in the morning. It can be a job, a goal, a hobby, an area of expertise, or maybe another person in their lives or even a pet. There are many things in life to be passionate about, and the first step in finding what they are for you is to use your heart and imagination to help you acknowledge your dreams. Start thinking big, and then you can work your way down to find smaller and more practical ways to pursue those dreams. A good first question to ask yourself is “If I didn’t have to worry about money ever again, what would I do?” Write a list of all of the answers you can think of. It might be a particular job, or a place you want to travel, or a new skill you want to learn. Think of every possibility, big and small, of what you would do, where you would go, the people you would surround yourself with if there were no restraints of time, money or excuses. While it’s probably not realistic to set your initial goals on accomplishing everything on your list in the immediate future, a lot of the answers to this question can lead you in the direction that your heart wants to take you, and that’s the key to finding your passion.
Once you’ve acknowledged your dreams and passions, then you have a starting point from which to begin pursuing them. In order to reach your ultimate dreams and fully live by all of your passions, start by taking small steps and forming small, attainable goals so that you don’t easily get discouraged. For example, if one of your dreams were to pursue a completely new career or professional field, get a book and research that field or talk to someone who has the kind of job you’d be interested in. Let’s say you’re passionate about learning how to play a new instrument. Then start by signing up for just one lesson and go from there. Maybe if you had no constraints in your life you would want to focus on helping others. A great step to take would to start volunteering in your community, even if it’s just an hour a week. It’s really just as easy as doing what you enjoy doing when you can enjoy doing it, and taking every opportunity to explore new possibilities and take new chances. As you continue to take small steps, achieve more and more goals, and enjoy yourself while doing so, you will see new opportunities and paths towards fulfillment of your dreams and passions opening up before you.
Finding and following your passions is often misjudged and misunderstood by some people as something that is too risky, impractical and unreasonable to live your life by. For every person who has wanted to live a life that they are truly passionate about and isn’t, they probably haven’t taken the time to think about what that life would really look like and mean to them. Living your life according to your passions and dreams doesn’t mean you need to (or realistically can) drop everything at this moment and pursue your dream life at all costs and sacrifices. But what it does mean is that you need to have the courage to step-by-step realize the life that you have the potential to really be living, and there’s no better time to start doing that than when you’re in your twenties. As Walt Disney once said, “All of your dreams can come true, if you have the courage to pursue them.” A life following your passion is simply one that is enjoyed by taking chances to follow where your heart is leading you. Finding and following your passion doesn’t just mean you’re determined to reach an ultimate destination, but also making sure to enjoy the journey along the way.
