I’ve spoken about how the Industrial Revolution literally beat into us the idea that leisure is bad and hard work for money and status are to be worshipped. It’s no wonder we’re incapable of relaxing. The collective trauma from those days has also convinced us that anything outside of these things is worth less.

Of course, there are people who are broke and struggling. If this is you right now, this article is not addressed to you; relaxing and things like passions and purpose are the last thing on your mind when you work three jobs just to survive.

The rest of us, however, struggle to move past this conditioning. It wasn’t just the Industrial Revolution, though: Romanticism came along and swept us into believing that apart from the all-important work, romantic love was the thing worth living for.

What we didn’t have or were forced to unlearn was the ability to find love, joy and fulfilment in ourselves, before seeking them in the outside world. It can be challenging to even know what lights you up – before now, nobody ever asked!

Today, I’ll teach you 3 simple questions to help you identify your passion.

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3 things you need to let go of

Before I dive into the questions, I’d like to make sure they’ll be received in the way I mean them. So, I’ll briefly talk about 3 things you need to let go in order for this process to work.

What you need to let go of in order to identify your passion, is certain ideas and preconceptions. It’s not your fault you have them, but they keep you from finding your bliss.

I’ve said these things before, but they are so important: We have been conditioned to think of everything in terms of money or practical use. The world is so much more than that! Here’s what you need to let go of:

1. The idea that identifying your passion means pursuing it as a career or business

You don’t. That’s it, that’s the message. Next!

It really is that simple, but we humans have a way of making things complicated, and so I’d like to clarify it a little further. If it’s your dream to turn your passion into your source of income, then I’ll cheer you on all the way. It is, however, challenging to do this and keep the passion alive. Needing money and selling what you do are the exact opposites of creative flow and freedom.

If you don’t want to do that, or aren’t good enough at your passion to do it – or maybe your passion isn’t something that can be turned into profit – you should still prioritise it. Why? Because it makes you happy, simple as that. Don’t think for one second that this is trivial; once your basic needs are met, happiness is the thing to strive for. Your passion makes you feel alive, makes life worth living. You deserve it, so go for it!

2. Thinking that you have to be good at your passion

See above, really, because this one’s connected to society’s expectation that everything you spend significant time or energy on, must have a practical use or be profitable. This is probably what keeps most of us from dedicating ourselves to our passion(s) more.

It’s not that you consciously think: ‘Oh, I shouldn’t spend time on this.’ It’s just, there always seems to be something else that’s more pressing at the moment. And when you do have time, you’re too tired or “lazy”. The underlying reason is that societal belief, and it takes work to let it go.

3. The idea that you can only have one true passion

I spent over four decades of my life hunting “the one thing” that I’d do for the rest of my life. I got super excited when I found something else to sink my teeth into and declared to the world that I’d finally found “it”.

And then I’d drop it again because I found something else (more) exciting (at the time). Over time, I felt like a flake and a fraud.

Turns out, I’m neither: I’m a muti-passionate, and whatever I’m into, is “the thing” for me, but not necessarily for life. That’s okay and doesn’t make me inconsistent or flaky, it’s simply the way my brain processes things. If you’re a multi-passionate, too, toss the guilt and indulge in your whims. Whatever makes you happy at that time, goes.

3 questions to identify your passion

Here are 3 questions you can ask yourself to identify your passion. And if you’re still not sure, consider taking my super affordable once-off session Find your Passion!

What’s in your browser/YouTube search history?

You know when you start reading up on something and go down a rabbit hole and can’t stop? Then you find a YouTube video about it, and that leads you to something else? That’s your passion, or at least it’s one of your many passions (see above, where I talk about multi-passionates).

What makes you forget time?

Don’t think “nah, that’s not a passion, it’s too silly”. One of my passions is gaming, another researching historical everything, from fashion to weapons and fighting techniques. A passion can be all sorts of things, like a field of study or a sport, not just a creative pursuit! If you lose track of time, you’re on to something.

What can’t you shut up about?

If you meet someone who shares your interest, you could talk for hours. With friends, you have to be careful not to bore them with the way you go on about it. This could be almost any subject. Whatever it is – it’s your passion.

So what is it good for, then?

We’ve established that you needn’t make your passion your source of income for it to be valid. However, if it doesn’t serve a practical purpose – what does it serve? Let me count the ways...

Obviously, it makes you happy and should be a priority for this reason alone. But there’s more to it than that. Prioritising joy means prioritising yourself in ways we’re not encouraged to in our modern world. We’re trained to put our focus outside of ourselves, to our achievements and success in the world.

Prioritising your passion means to shift that focus back into your self, to fully inhabit yourself once again, or maybe for the first time in your life. Astonishing things happen when you do that, and they can encompass all areas of your life. You’ll also be on track to finding your unique life purpose, and that’s the most fulfilling thing I know of.

3 Questions to Identify your Passion