“We may affirm absolutely that nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.” ~ Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Everyone who ever knew my father would agree he found a great deal of success as a bank executive and insurance agency owner. However, most of them would be surprised to learn that if he had been free to follow his passion, it would have led him in an entirely different direction.
When I was young, my mother told me about living in Lansing, Michigan, as newlyweds while my father attended college. It was near the end of World War II, and Dad, who served with the Combat Engineers, was sent by the U.S. Army to Michigan State for special engineering classes. He said he was the only one in any of his classes who didn’t already have a degree in engineering, yet he finished at the top of his class despite not having any type of degree at all.
Dad had dreamed of being an engineer when he was young, but as the eldest son, he felt obligated to follow his father into the banking business that was started by his grandfather. I know his passion remained strong, because after he passed away, I found the certificate he earned in those courses carefully tucked away among his most important papers.
Some of us, like my father, discover their passion early on in life. Some can’t seem to find theirs, while others may recognize their passion, but have no idea how to follow it.
My granddaughter, a junior in high school, has been visiting colleges around Texas as part of her AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) class. She has not yet decided what she wants to major in, but she knows she wants to get a college degree. I advised her to find her passion, then decide what career would allow her to earn a living doing what she loves.
But, what if your true passion turns out to be something nobody would pay you to do, at least not enough to live on? Then, you might have to compromise by choosing a vocation you don’t hate and then pursuing your passion as a sideline.
I’ve always known since I could pick up a crayon that my passion lay in drawing and writing. As I mentioned in Life Lesson #2 — Regret Nothing, I attended college at three different times in my life. The first time I had a double major in art and English with the ultimate goal of writing and illustrating children’s books. The second time around, my goals were more practical with a major in art education. The third time, when I had already been working in graphic arts and publishing, my degree plan was in communications.
Although my career over the last 30 years has always involved some form of art and writing and it’s something I love doing, my passion has been strongest in what would be considered creative hobbies. I draw charcoal portraits, crochet, knit, sew, and scrapbook. And, now that I am semi-retired, I have more time to engage in my extreme passion for creative writing.
Need a bit of help in finding your passion in life? Here are a few questions that may help you jumpstart your thinking process:
- What did you enjoy doing most as a child?
- What did you want to be when you grew up?
- What was your favorite subject in school?
- Who would you like to be if you could change places with anyone?
- When you have leisure time, what do you like to do?
- What would you do if you had unlimited time and money?
- What skill do you wish you had developed?
- What occupation would you like to have even if you didn’t get a salary?
- What type of environment makes you the happiest or the most content?
- What activity absorbs you so fully you lose track of time?
Take a look at your answers to the questions above and try to determine if there is a theme or trend. Do you tend to enjoy creative activities? Do you yearn for adventure and excitement? Do you like to challenge your mind and try new things?
If you still haven’t found your particular passion, you might have to try a few on for size. Don’t give up and decide it’s too late to find your passion. Julia Child didn’t discover her passion in cooking until she was in her mid-thirties, Laura Ingalls Wilder was 64 before she developed her passion in writing, and Grandma Moses was 76 before she found that painting was her passion. What is your passion?
NOTE: This is the year I celebrate (?) seven decades residing on this planet. My journey so far has taught me many life lessons, so I decided to share some of them with you. I’ll be posting one each day from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
Yesterday: Learn From Failure
Tomorrow: Be Compassionate
