How do you find your "Passion"?

[foreverforgotten]

Ive been told that since I was 18. "Youll figure it out". I've been stuck caregiving for my parents.
Im 30 now. Went to school for 4 years and changed majors 4 times. Don't even have an associates degree yet. Took my time "figuring it out" And still work retail/minimum wage jobs.
I don't have a passion for anything. I know that I dont need a "passion" for my job either. I just want stability. Definitely thinking that passion is not something ive got.

Anyone else ever get themselves out of a similar hole at a later age? What did you do...

 

[HappyKitty]

I got. I keep exploring my hobbies throughout my childhood and I did lotsa job hopping and school/class hopping too but I enjoyed every experiences of it. Make the most out of everything. Only until now, I finally figure out I love it. Nothing's a waste of time.

You'll find it, passion changes. You just need to figure out what you enjoy and how you're gonna enjoy the process. You can take a break from your majors, you can still take care of your parents, stick to minimum wages to take care of yourself, its okay really - you can do all that while you can keep finding something you can enjoy for yourself.

And if you're having trouble in between, you can always ask professionals for help.

 

[foreverforgotten]

I got. I keep exploring my hobbies throughout my childhood and I did lotsa job hopping and school/class hopping too but I enjoyed every experiences of it. Make the most out of everything. Only until now, I finally figure out I love it. Nothing's a waste of time.

You'll find it, passion changes. You just need to figure out what you enjoy and how you're gonna enjoy the process. You can take a break from your majors, you can still take care of your parents, stick to minimum wages to take care of yourself, its okay really - you can do all that while you can keep finding something you can enjoy for yourself.

And if you're having trouble in between, you can always ask professionals for help.

View attachment 35225

Hey Thank you.. I hope so. Im getting tired. Ive started over so many times. Im not in school right now.

 

[HappyKitty]

Hey Thank you.. I hope so. Im getting tired. Ive started over so many times. Im not in school right now.

You’re welcome. Thats why take a break, don’t neglect that. If its too draining, did you know therapist can also help figure out who you are and what you enjoy and all those stuffs? Its pretty cool. I just hope you won’t make your life too stagnant. Have fun with self-discovery.

 

[tlaud]

My passion seems to have been "helping others" during a difficult time, but it is now gone. One example was a trip to Dominican Republic in 1999 after Hurricane George. I did construction with the National Guard, and concrete schools were built that were also hurricane shelters for the community. When I left, my duffel bag was empty, giving all I could to locals. One weekend day the unit went to "hang out" at a fancy hotel in Santo Domingo on the beach. I stayed and drove the chaplain around the local communities to get to know the residents better.

Does that sound similar to my work as a physical therapist? Help others get through the "hard times" so they can move forward. Unfortunately, the passion has been removed, which is why I sometimes show up here.

 

[MisterBGone]

Ive been told that since I was 18. "Youll figure it out". I've been stuck caregiving for my parents.
Im 30 now. Went to school for 4 years and changed majors 4 times. Don't even have an associates degree yet. Took my time "figuring it out" And still work retail/minimum wage jobs.
I don't have a passion for anything. I know that I dont need a "passion" for my job either. I just want stability. Definitely thinking that passion is not something ive got.

Anyone else ever get themselves out of a similar hole at a later age? What did you do...

First of all—30 (ish!) ;^) was right at or about the time that things started to turn around significantly for me - after a disastrous stretch in my late; or mid, heck! Perhaps even early 20’s depending on how you wish to slice it. . ;^) id say 31/32–technically speaking; if you want to get, “technical!” ; ) Actually, it can be quite frustrating and “head-banging against-the-wall!” Types of emotions as you go through school 🏫 trying to find your way through the fog 🌫... i think that, your experience seems vast, as in good, in terms of exploring some different things in college (it shows you’re not willing to settle for something you don’t like). This is good! Some people will just mindlessly follow their initial, or even secondary chosen path - only to wind up wasting away their days for the next coming decades — should they not hop from one chosen career to the next, which can also happen (sort of like one changes majors; they also do jobs/occupations, etc.) . . . Maybe you need to change it up. Especially given how exhausting it must be to now care for your folks. Could you day dream, just a little? Brainstorm? Try to conjure up something just a little different (than you’ve ever thought of before). You may have to go “outside the box,” so-to-speak, with respect to trying to find something you’re passionate about. Though this thing may (or may not) Exist until you’ve found it. A lot of people stumble onto theirs by accident or mistake. For instance, one of my professors at a graduate health sciences university in which I dropped out of - who happened to be one of the more extraordinary brains & minds on the campus: both allegedly & in reality—in all actuality! said that she basically just “fell into her career... out of dumb-luck!!” In other words, smart as she was, this was not planned. She had no way of knowing she’d love what she was doing without doing so first. So you start, try it out, and may come to find that there — you’ve got or hit on somethjng you can enjoy. Had a doctor who was going to be a specialist, but changed his mind after a year in internal medicine. That was the plan after finishing studies / schooling, go do this one “thing,” spend a year filling in and helping out at this practice just for the heck of it. Three decades later, he’s not only still there - but according to his boss one of the, if no t the smartes t one in the bldg (this was given to me by a closely trusted source, and was first hand info to said source! ) Anyway, prior to that decision being made, he told me what his passion would be, it would’ve been — & that was was, he thought (albeit incorrectly), the specialty he was planning on pursuing (he’d already had. A PhD in anothe r less medically based science - that is to say, more L”pure science,” prior to changing courses on the human body, after consulting with, or rather moreover — experiencing teaching some students in grad school. Anyway, there’s also a whole lot of people that just go through life punching the clock & living paycheck to paycheck, dreading if not downright hating their jobs, at worst; and being or feeling apathetic or nfifferent about it at best. So should yi fall into that category, you’d be in what’s typically called, “the majority!” I believe. . . ha! No laughing matter, I know— but I gotta thug, having never tried it my self, that the retail industry you’ve mentioned having some experience in is one of the most arduous out there &/or around. Just in terms of potentially being “soul/suckijg..:/“ I could be wrong. I’m sure some love it—& May in fact find it to the their tru e calling or passion. Now, there’s also the old I don’t know if you call it a. N adage necessarily or not - but basically the question or mid set of thinking which goes or states, “if yo u could do or be anything at once, without having to do whatever it takes / gothrough the process of achieving &:or attaining such a goal - or in this case, career, what might that be? “ so in your case if the answe r is somewhat rooted in fantasy, or just plain not simply that realistic, you may have to give it a few tries until you can come up with somethjng that might sound or seem reasonable. Feasible. Yes, I’d like to be a famous musician who changes the lives of a generation: well, that may not work, but you get the drift. Can’t / won’t go to law school... etc. but I could sign up for culinary arts (or whatever cooking school I s caled?). That’s somethjng I’m willing to do! Good l uc k & best wishes—

 

[cymbele]

I grew up thinking of being a scientist - not that I knew what a scientist did. But by the time I got to college i realized that day 1 after college I had to have a job to support myself - I was out of the nest. (BTW I disappointed my parents who at that enlightened age thought women could only be teachers/nurses). I should have gone into the factories as a union employee - I would be retired with a good pension by now). But I went to school and while other students were traipsing around Europe and day 1 after college I had a job.

My point is if you want to support yourself go to school and get a degree in something that will pay. Then pursue passions. Passions could be activities that are non paying like acting, painting, something in the arts or volunteering. My sister realized her degree wouldn't pay crap so she went and got a nursing degreee and now pursues gardening, her grandson, and her dog.
Sorry to sound harsh but it's reality. if you're lucky to get a passion that pays great but otherwise get a degree in something that pays.

 

[robertk]

Hey there,
I am 32. I first went to college for mechanical engineering. It was a decision made for me - mostly by the education system in my country. After completing that, I had an unrelated job for 2 years which gave me some time to think. During those 2 years I made up my mind to pursue music. I went on to do a BA and masters in music. Despite doing relatively well in music school and landing a somewhat prestigious short-term contract after, I was faced with a period of unemployment. During that time I tried many different things, even things that I completely despise. But nothing really stuck. Currently, I've returned to music but it is very hard for me to make ends meet. I'm happier but there's that catch of not being financially secured.

I'm sorry I don't really have any concrete solutions. I don't think that there is anything wrong with you though. I know people who are in their 50's and beyond that don't have a passion. Some of them are able to find happiness in other things, in their spouse/family/meals/TV shows. And then, I know people that have great passion and have been able to make it work. I have a particularly inspiring friend. He only got a real job related his passion in his 50's. He is now a professor of literature. Prior to that he was a business translator. He made the huge switch in his late 30s.

Hang in there. Expose yourself to new things and ideas. And try to enjoy the present =)

Hugs