It all starts with passion. Oftentimes, we are not aware of what we love doing. What makes you tick? What keeps you going and going like the Energizer Bunny? If you realize your passion, you become a dangerous person—you might just turn the world upside down!
Here are the eighteen ways for you to rediscover and recapture your passion.
1. Get a journal and chronicle what you think about for a whole day. Our thoughts reveal our interests and the things that we care about. If you jot down your thoughts, especially those that you keep going back to.
2. Take a look at the kinds of books in your shelf. What do you like to read? Is there a recurring topic or a pattern that emerge from your book collection?
3. Take a look at your College (or high school) subjects and grades. Which ones did you love attending? What subjects were you interested in? Did you keep learning about it even after the subject was over?
4. List down your friends and the activities you enjoy doing with them. Do you love organizing parties and events for your friends? What kinds of parties are those?
5. Track down the TV shows you enjoy watching. Just like your thoughts, they can also reveal certain aspect of your personality. This is certainly a clue to where your passion lies.
6. List down the people you admire and want to emulate. They can be business people, political leaders, leaders you personally know, historical folks and then list down ways on how you can follow their footsteps.
7. Take a look at your spending. You usually find your heart where your treasure is. Track your spending. What things do you usually spend your money on? At the very least, you may discover that you need to cut back on your spending. The main thing, of course, is to discover where your passion lies.
8. Ask your friends about the topics and subjects that you usually talk about. Your friends can serve as mirror of your personality and interests. Since you spend considerable time with them, you can ask them about topics that you talk about. They may tell you that you bore them with some of the stuff you talk about but their feedback is important.
9. Go get an IQ test. It will reveal where your competencies lie and what kinds of skills you need to work on.
10. Discover your personality. You can obtain personality tests online or from professional counselors. You’ll also understand a lot of things about yourself.
11. Take a look at your past achievements. Which ones did you enjoy working at the most?
12. Go on a personal retreat. Leave the city. Go to the hills or mountains. Celebrate nature and rediscover yourself.
13. What are your hobbies? List the things you enjoy doing the most even if you are not paid to do them.
14. Picture yourself ten years from now. What accomplishments do you want to achieve by then?
15. List down what you absolutely hate in your work, in your family and in your life. They can give you a clue as to what you love.
16. List down the simplest (and even the complicated ones, too) things that you love in your life. After listing down what you hate, you can identify the things that you love.
17. List down the talents and skills that you have. This may sound like a personal inventory. But really, it will also let you know what you enjoy doing.
18. What reward do you value? Is it status or financial? List both the tangible and intangible rewards you want to be given to you.
These 18 ways may take some time away from your schedule. But they will help you understand your passions better so you can lead more effectively and pursue those projects that you are passionate about.