Passion is something that we take for granted when we have it.
It seems like our commitment to that cause, that person or that challenge will last forever.
But, for many women, passion fizzles out over time.
Maybe work is no longer fulfilling. Maybe you are bored by your old hobbies. Maybe your children have finally moved out, and you suddenly have a whole lot more time on your hands.
Whereas life once made sense, without passion your road is characterised by uncertainty.
How can you find your passion and discover the next happy phase of your life?
Read on.
Take it down a gear
Feeling passionless often goes hand in hand with exhaustion, and even depression.
It is important to recognise whether your exhaustion is the result of your lack of passion, or the cause of it.
Why?
When you are run into the ground, your body doesn’t have the energy to devote to anything aside from surviving. Less energy means less excitement, and less excitement means less sense of purpose and passion.
Stop chasing your tail and start looking after you. By exercising a bit of self-love, you will give your body the energy to reboot and actually start enjoying the possibilities of each day.
This will put the spark back into your life and take you one step closer to finding your passion.
Rethink your self-image
All of us have ideas about who we are, where we’re meant to be and what we’re capable of achieving.
While it’s important to have self-awareness, be careful not to pigeon-hole your possibilities.
When you apply a single story to your life, you may well exclude an array of opportunities that are well within your reach, if only you allowed yourself to see them.
So, think twice before passing up that concert ticket because your aren’t really a music person.
Attend the protest that keeps catching your attention, even though you find the idea intimidating.
By stepping out of your comfort zone you can re-write your story and find a passion that gives your life new meaning.
Put it on paper
Gaining clarity is difficult when your thoughts are trapped, colliding with each other inside your head. The best way to take control is to write: to let them out.
You don’t need to be a creative genius for this to work. You don’t need to show anyone else the words you put on paper. Just write for you.
Writing what you are thinking allows you to gain order, flow, continuity and an understanding of where you’re at.
It can help you to recognise a common theme in your dreams. It may even lead to an unexpected epiphany about your future passion. Let your thoughts out and see
Go back to basics
The obstacles that prevent us from finding our passion as adults often revolve around the practicalities of life.
To find your passion, sometimes it’s necessary to think back to when expectations and responsibility didn’t matter so much. To when you just did whatever your heart told you to do.
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? Can this idea be woven into any aspect of your life now?
This won’t work for everyone – to become a flying unicorn isn’t exactly a legitimate life goal.
But, this reflection may also allow you to remember your love of animals or your desire to help people.
If there is something that has stayed constant over time, even as your life has changed, it might be time to give that childhood passion another roll of the dice.
Don’t be afraid of failure
Sometimes, we stumble across something that we LOVE. Overnight we apply ourselves whole-heartedly to this passion…And then we run out of steam just as quickly.
This circle of excitement and disappointment is frustrating. But it also goes hand-in-hand with any self-exploration.
Try not to be too disheartened by your search for the new you. Like anything worthwhile, it takes time.
