How To Discover Your True Passion And Make It Your Life's Work

People who are passionate about what they do tend to put all of their heart, effort, body and soul into their projects, like dancing, singing, writing and acting. It is generally easy to spot people who do such work, simply because it appeals to their passions.

They stand out among the crowds. They have a certain glow that those next to them lack. The people who are passionate about what they do always find ways to the top and flourish because they dedicate everything to their crafts. Talent is great, but passion takes ordinary to extraordinary.

Passion is something that is intangible, yet powerful. It is the burning sensation in the depths of your soul that creates this love for a certain something. Passion arises when someone does something he or she personally loves.

The bottom line is “love.” Without love, passion nearly unattainable. Love is the fuel to the fire that burns in the depths of our souls. Love is what ignites the fire and sustains it. Passion and love are interrelated: a couple, a pair.

When love finds its passion, whether it be playing softball or soccer, painting or dancing, the product is 100 percent dedication because it's an act of love. With passion, the fuel is never-ending, and the persistence to encroach on such activities will never die, so long as one has love for it.

This is why when failure enters the equation, passion and love always supercede all doubts and aims to give up. Thus, despite all failure, one will continue to do what he or she loves, regardless of whether the failures exceed the successes.

You might think, “Well that’s great and all, but what about the talented people?” Don’t get me wrong; talent and passion are both correlated, but they also have their dividing differences. One could be very talented at a sport, profession or activity and still be very successful, nonetheless.

But, there is always one small thing missing. We can always pick up on this because there is something missing from the eyes: the gleam and love that makes that person so captivating.

Let’s say there are two people, equally talented, dancing to a song. The person who will grab your attention would most likely be the one oozing passion like an oil leak. This person would be dancing, regardless of whether anyone was watching or not — for the love, not the recognition.

This is the diverging point between the passionate and the talented. It is more of a mindset and spiritual feeling than something physical.

People who have talent but lack passion frequently do what they do to fulfill their egocentric needs for their love of recognition or fame. They do it more for others than for themselves.

How do we recognize what we are doing if not for passion?

You are lacking passion if:

1. You find yourself wondering when the event or activity will be over.

2. You do it for recognition from others and not for yourself.

3. Other people's opinions control whether you do it rather than yourself. Other people's opinions weigh so heavily on you that you would quit in an instant.

4. It no longer makes you happy and may actually make you angry.

5. You care more about what others are doing and less about yourself (especially in sports or any competitive event).

6. You have to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” constantly.

7. It is a constant roller coaster of emotions; one moment you love it, and the next, you want to give up.

8. It feels more like an obligation than anything else.

Sure, you could put in the countless hours of work and your routine could be flawless, but someone who practiced less could still edge you out. Why?

Maybe because the other person had a little more passion. If you lack passion, you can come across as soulless and even dry if you're void of flawless execution.

If this sounds strikingly familiar, you, my friend, are not on the path to finding your passion. The only way to get there is to do something you love, independent of what others think and feel.

You should consider doing it because you love it and you would do it every day, regardless of how much it pays or how it makes you look to others.

Passion for a particular activity makes you feel like you have discovered a part of yourself you never felt before. It makes you a better, more dynamic and centered individual.

Love will radiate from your eyes, body and soul uncontrollably, and people will notice. It should feel effortless and comfortable.

So, how does one find passion?

You have come to the right place, my friend. Passion stems from love and everyone possesses the ability to love. Then, you must find something you genuinely love or something that fully interests you, something from which you never tire.

Here's how you know if you are doing something about which you are passionate:

You lose track of time.

Maybe it seems like 30 minutes turned into three hours. Whoops! Time flies when you are having fun and doing something you love. You seem to forget about many of life's problems; you would do it every day for free, and if it pays money, that is a plus!

Hey, some might call you crazy, but doing it is so much fun, you would be more than willing to do it for free.

It is always on your mind and people may call you OBSESSIVE.

In between or during classes, you just can’t seem to get this off your mind. You are infatuated and cannot stop researching, thinking or talking about it.

It's in your daydreams, night dreams and even consistently popping up in conversations with friends and family who may or may not be sick of you talking about it.

You forget about everything holding you back.

You forget everything that stresses you out; success and fulfillment have your undivided attention.

You don’t have time to worry about failure or what everyone else thinks because the sole thing that matters is that you are doing something you love.

It feels effortless and comfortable.

It feels like you’ve been doing this forever and with very little effort, and you seem to be pretty darn good at it.

You don’t have to try so hard that you pull a muscle, develop a hernia, or worse, it comes naturally, with an effortless fluidity that feels so familiar and comfortable to you.

It makes you smile.

Nowadays, it’s tough for people to smile. Sheesh. But hey, if it can do that, you must be doing something right.

You feel complete, like you have a purpose.

It’s a plus if you get to help other people while doing it. Just be careful when the jar of goodness goes empty. After all, we never want that to happen.

This is when we need to re-inspire ourselves again and fill up that jar before we lose the love that comes with our passion.