Things To Be Passionate About

My friend asked me a great question while we were at dinner the other night. She asked, “Ryan, what are some things to be passionate about? If I wanted to grow my passions in life, what should they be?” Well, I loved that question because it’s really a key to happiness!

If you have been wondering about what your real passion is, don’t fret because you’re not alone. Many people find it hard to realize what their passion is on just one go. In fact, successfully finding what you are passionate about takes a lot of trial and error, which can ultimately test your patience sometimes.

When it comes to passion, it should be something that excites you and gives you a sense of satisfaction while not stressing you out to burnout. It’s more about fully engaging with the life you lead and feeling content doing what you do.

In this article, we will talk about ten possible passion-filled things so that you can get an idea of what it means to feel passionate.

Ten Things To Be Passionate About

Here are some things you can be passionate about… Or at least start to be! 🙂 Take a look at our passionate examples below:

Working On Yourself

There’s nothing more important in your life than being passionate about yourself and the life you lead. As humans, we are constantly learning and continually growing as the days go by, and with each new day, you are given new opportunities to change your old ways.

We’re not saying you have to change how you live your life entirely, but perhaps you see some shortcomings in yourself that you would like to improve upon. After all, no one is perfect in this world, so there’s always room for improvement.

First, you need to know yourself and be aware of your strengths and weaknesses to know what is there to be passionate about in your life. So make a start by digging deep into your own consciousness and finding out everything there is to learn about your own self.

If you find something you lack or a new habit that you want to inculcate, perhaps, even a few behavioral aspects that you wish to change, make a note of them and start working on your self-betterment.

Expert advice: According to multiple studies on NIH.gov, sometimes our definition of “happiness” is biological. And not all to do with ourselves. If you’re seeking happiness, try seeking joy instead!

Career

If you are passionate about your profession, you will have a better chance of excelling in what you do and progressing in your professional career. Always aim higher in whatever you do and push yourself to exceed your own expectations. This way, you’ll be able to make an impact not just in the workplace but along within your own circle and perhaps the world.

Many people dream of having a job where they don’t have to dread hearing the alarm ring in the morning. If your career is your passion, you never have to worry about getting bored with your work or stressed out because you are already good at what you do, and you do it so effortlessly.

This is why it is so important to consider all factors before you choose a career path. You don’t want to be one of those people who hate their job and are miserable every day of their lives. They are not helping their mental well-being or improving their coworkers’ lives.

If your career and passion do not coincide in any way, perhaps it is time to search your soul once more to find out what you are passionate about.

Expert advice: According to a study by HHS Public Access (Morten L. Kringelbach and Kent C. Berridge), there is almost always an “end” to happiness. Manage your expectations accordingly. The study states, “While consciousness allows us to experience pleasures, desires, and perhaps even happiness, this is always accompanied by the certainty of the end.”

Learning

If you’re the type of person who likes to learn new things all the time, now is a good time as any to start! There is so much that the world can offer you, and nowadays, with the internet so easily accessible to us, is has become so easy to find new things that you can focus on and hone some skills.

You can start with something simple like learning a new language and work your way up to learning how to trade in the stock market or how to start your own business. It is also helpful if you make this choice concerning your hobbies and interests.

Learning is always more fun and much easier to grasp if you are interested in it. You cannot hate the idea of looking at numbers and trying to learn how to invest in the stock market. This will not only take a lot of time from your daily routine but also stress you out unnecessarily.

Instead of this, if you are interested in cooking or baking, why not try to learn a new recipe every day? This will make your days more engaging and fun, and you also have the satisfaction of doing a decent job at what you’re passionate about. In this way, you can also improve upon skills that you already have.

See also: Things to do on a Sunday (ideas!)

Wildlife

As an animal lover, it will be a good idea if you decide to move your focus to this field. You can sign up as a volunteer for an animal shelter that you visit every week, or you can also be part of the foster care community where you take in pets and animals to care for them until you find them a forever home.

 As mentioned before, this passion does not work if you don’t love animals. Unless you have pets at home or have an innate love and compassion for pets and animals, this is not a passion you can willingly take up.

Also, suppose you have a phobia of certain animals. In that case, it might become difficult for you to function normally by dedicating your time at an animal shelter when all you want to do is get as far away from the animals as possible.

Writing

If you have a knack for writing, you could take up the hobby and turn it into a passion by working on some form of writing like journaling, blogging, researching, or even writing a book.

First, find a topic that interests you and devise a list of possible titles you can work with. If you’re unsure where to begin, take inspiration from the internet and learn how to write like a pro.

The process of writing a book is both fun and engaging. It can let you explore different niches and even learn more about topics you are unfamiliar with.

Writing is also a therapeutic way of caring for your mental health. So even if you’re uncomfortable with writing books or articles to be published, you can write for yourself and find an escape in jotting down your thoughts that you might find too difficult to express verbally.

See also: Hobbies for women (ideas!)

Environment—things to be passionate about

If you love the environment and nature, perhaps your passion lies there. If you’re unsure where to go for your first step into this world, you can look up online or talk to your community leaders to find social groups and activist groups who come together to give back to mother nature.

With the world moving at such a fast pace, so many technological advances have made the world more manageable and accessible. However, the downfall of this advancement is that we are now facing a lot of scarcity, exploitation and quite literally losing a lot of natural resources which is essential for the sustenance of our lives.

Your passion project doesn’t have to be something on such a large scale as this. Still, something as seemingly insignificant as plating one tree or turning off your car and saving fuel can contribute to protecting the environment.

If you like working in groups and becoming an activist, you can always join these groups that organize different drives and rallies to spread environmental awareness.

Related: Ways to meet new people

Decluttering

Some people enjoy the simplest things, like organization and decluttering. Not only is it a passion that you can spend your free time in, but you can also simplify your life by getting rid of the things that no longer have any use for you.

You might think that you only have the essentials in your home, but perhaps if you spend a day ransacking through your closet, you might be able to find a few items that no longer serve a purpose in your life. It could be old clothes that don’t fit you or worn-out shoes. It can even be getting rid of kitchen and other household items that are broken or no longer needed.

If it is in good condition, you can donate it to charity or have a yard sale and make some money from your clutter. Like that say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” so there might be some valuable things in your home that you might have forgotten about, but decluttering might help you get some extra cash.

Decluttering is also a way to de-tress for some people. The peace of mind comes from knowing that you no longer have a junk drawer or an unused cabinet in your house full of things that you don’t even know how is in the first place.

A minimalist way of living can become very addictive once you get the hang of it, not just in terms of giving away or throwing out physical things but also decluttering your mind, your schedule, and, ultimately, your life. This kind of passion is rewarding in every sense of the word.

Mental health—things to be passionate about

Stress and anxiety are a part of everyday life. It doesn’t matter what job line you are in or what kind of life you live. Life is such that either you source your own stress or stress comes to find you. In moments like this, it is good to be in touch with your mental health and work on how to better manage these life stressors.

Being passionate about mental health does not only mean going out there and getting a degree in psychology or other related sciences. It can start from your home, where you practice a few minutes of meditation daily and cultivate mindfulness.

When you’re passionate about caring for mental health- yours and others, you are more capable of taking care of yourself and finding logical and practical solutions, even if there are obstacles in the way. You can think more clearly and regulate your emotions better to make reasonable decisions.

The hard truth is that it is not easy to feel passionate about many things in life if you are not in the right mental state. This is because your mind is already occupied at total capacity, worrying and overthinking about something that you have no control over.

Health and Fitness

In recent years, health and fitness have become a pretty strong and prevalent passion among many people. The awareness of a healthy body and mind is widespread, and that’s becoming a passion many people are digging into.

While having a healthy mental state is just as important, your physical well-being also matters. In fact, the connection between good physical and stable mental health is so strong that you cannot have one without the other.

This includes the food you put in your body and the activities you indulge in. Many studies have shown that food is vital in regulating certain chemicals in your brain, like dopamine and serotonin. So once you start living and eating healthy, your mind is also automatically happy since you start producing more happiness hormones that look after your overall personal well-being.

Likewise, engaging your body in physical activity also keeps your mind healthy. It advances your mental capacity and keeps you feeling productive and motivated throughout the day.

Giving back—things to be passionate about

As social beings who live in a society and community, investing your spare time in giving back to the community is a good idea. It doesn’t mean only in monetary terms but small acts of service to the needy in the community, such as teaching the underprivileged.

Teaching is a passion that many people love. This does not mean that you must take up courses to qualify as a teacher at a school or to become a professor. You could teach people how to paint, draw, sculpt, or any other art form.

You can also sign up for a volunteer program where you can help older adults or feed people experiencing homelessness. Other than that, if you’re already in some line of profession like sports, you could volunteer to coach the youths of the community in football or basketball, or any other sport.

This helps you feel involved and gives you a sense of belongingness, a basic need in all humans.

Expert advice: According to a study by Nature Communications, there is IN FACT a link between giving back (generosity) and happiness.

Conclusion—Things to Be Passionate About

Why is it important to find our passions in life? Well, here’s the thing—passion is something that you would do regardless of if you were getting paid for it. Or regardless of if it were ‘hard’ or not. For example, if you failed at ‘the thing’ you were passionate about… Would you keep doing it? The answer is going to be yes.

Passion drives us more than monetary gain. It helps us achieve personal growth in life. It embraces and sparks creative thinking that can get reapplied to other aspects of life (career, family, relationships). For example, donating your local community—this is a wonderful passion and can lead to new friendships, relationships, and more.

Having a passion also helps you get into a ‘flow state.’ This is a state of being that puts you into the present moment and no where else. This helps to reduce stress levels and promotes mental health (or relationship health).

Things like: healthy eating, bird watching, working out, and reading—all have some type of new skill that can get created out of it. Whether you decide to start a cooking blog. Or decide you’d like to be a competitive bird watcher. And decide you’d like to coach others with their fitness. Finding a passion will always lead to something positive in your personal life, career life, and more.