top of page
Writer's pictureDaniel Paice

Do Not Neglect Your Passions

In a society where money, and getting one up on each other is paramount above everything else, finding your passion can be extremely difficult — to say the least. Having a passion for something — or a passion for anything at all — is great. It is something to be celebrated. And whilst, yes, money is an important part of surviving in our society, I do not feel we should put our passions and hobbies on hold until we eventually earn enough money to then enjoy ourselves.


Quite frankly, we never quite know how much money will ever get to that point, or if we are ever going to have the opportunity to do what we want to do in the first place; we can play ‘the long game’ and still miss out. We can be adults and still enjoy ourselves — these are not mutually exclusive. The best time to start is now.



Lean into your passion


Take what you like doing, and enjoy it. Not everything has to be a hustle. Not everything has to be a hustle all of the time. What I mean by this is we can earn money from something we enjoy if we really want to, but there doesn't have to be this crushing pressure to earn a certain amount. It could just be a steady stream; as and when. We can even do things for the sake of simply enjoying it. This is a notion I feel that a lot of society is lost. Again, we are simply feeding into this capitalist ideology that money is paramount to everything.


Our hobbies and interests can be pretty much anything, it doesn't have to be what everyone else is doing. So, for example, it is commonly said that having a day to yourself, and putting on a face mask, is self-care. It can often be made out to be the only way to look after yourself. But I know, for example, that self-care for me sometimes looks like staring at the wall for ten minutes: allowing myself to be, and allowing my mind to switch off — not have to process what's going on. Other times, it could be that I need to spend time writing (as I am now), to help express my thoughts and how I'm feeling. I do find — as a highly sensitive person — that I store up a lot of my emotions in fear of them being too much for some people. And so, I find writing to be a way of safely expressing and letting go of those emotions.


I am also guilty of not paying as much attention as I would like to how I'm feeling, and how it's going to make me feel later down the line. I'm so used to naturally putting aside how I'm feeling, what I want to do, to help others and make them feel better. Which I know is a great characteristic of mine, but I also know that I have to set boundaries with myself. If I don't, or can't, look after myself, then I can't do my job as a human being properly.


What do you like about your passion or passions?


Dig deep into that, and allow yourself to feel. How do your passions make you feel? As the common expression goes, what makes you feel alive? If we get this feeling, we suddenly feel as though we have more energy; it suddenly becomes so much easier to do everything — from the most mundane tasks, to the most complex.


Once you have grasped that feeling, and you feel that you can articulate that feeling to yourself, I would like you to consider how you can develop that feeling. And not just in the sense of feeling it more — but also how you can carry that feeling across to other areas of your life.


Those of you that know me, or have read my writing, will know and understand that I am an advocate of finding something you enjoy in everything that you do. That is a very important discovery in life.


If you are told ‘no’, do it more



If you are harming yourself or others, or committing a crime, then this most definitely doesn't apply (but then hopefully you knew that anyway).


Moving on, I have been told that I'll never be successful by writing a book. There is a lot to unpack there — and I will only do so briefly — so bear with me. Firstly, our measures of success are different. I consider myself successful having published my first book at nineteen. Writing isnt some get-rich-quick scheme. I didn't start writing thinking I was going to be a millionaire. I started writing because I needed to. I had something to share, and writing was the way that I could get my voice to be heard, in some fashion or capacity. Writing and becoming an author has also opened up an entirely new world for me — of writers and disabled people like me — and having that ability to share and discuss writing, reading, and anything that makes the act and idea of writing feel less lonely. Having that ‘community’ makes it feel less of an uphill struggle. It is often said that writing is a labour of love, and that is why. That is not to say that I don't love writing.


Put it this way…


If you are indulging in a piece of cake, and someone has the audacity to ask ‘whether you really need that’, with a condescending glance with a sneer (makes my blood boil), eat that cake. Eat it with defiance, eat with confidence. Eat it whilst the tears of shame are replaced by joy(bit dramatic, but there we go). You know when you've had enough. You know when you are treating yourself. Ultimately, you know what you want.


And if you ever feel like you are not in control, or you don't know what you want? Then that is something to work on within yourself. Perhaps you may need help from a professional to work out the root of the problem.


Allow yourself to feel joy


Many people, including myself, feel like we have to live to work, and not work to live. It becomes a perpetual cycle of working to survive, but not actually living. Working, instead of finding something that allows you to feel that joy. Life is about finding that happy balance. You are, in fact, allowed to feel joy.


It may seem like a simple sentiment, but just reminding myself that I am allowed to feel joy, then led me to realise that I was doing things because I wanted to get to the end, and it was what I had been told to do; it's all part of the process. And that's when I became adamant in trying to find any tiny little bit of joy in absolutely everything that I do.

What to do if you don't know what your passions are?


Immediately ask yourself, what are you drawn to? What makes you feel alive? What makes you feel better about the fact that you exist? What gives you purpose? How can you expand on that and utilise this feeling? Again, by expand and utilise I do not mean turning your hobby into a side hustle. Of course, you can do that if you want to, but that should not be the immediate assumption. Again, you can enjoy something for the sake of just having a good time.


Here are some really useful tools to help you find your passions and we discover what you enjoy…


Yes, I am a writer, but that doesn't have much to do with what I am going to discuss. These tools, or ways of working, do not require you to have any specialist knowledge in language or writing. All that is needed is for you to understand why and what you have written.


Blogging and journaling


I would say that journaling is much more personal — because it is just you writing to you. However, you can blog on a website just for you. So in other words, you can keep the website private, if that is the method that you prefer.


I particularly like using journaling if I'm thinking about a very personal issue, whereas I like to use blogging to help articulate a new discovery or a new thought that I've had, in a way that will help me — but it will also help others. Journaling is more focusing on exactly what I need, and not focusing on whether anybody else needs to understand it or read it.


I will link some posts just here that go into more detail about each of these skills.


I suggest you look at journaling if you are looking at a more personal self development first.



In essence, these allow us to examine the many layers to our thoughts and feelings — and they may present you with new ideas and directions for you to pursue.


As part of this, I would encourage you to think about what you enjoyed as a child, and how you can bring that enjoyment into the present. Then, from there, going back to asking yourself the questions stated above. What do you think brings you joy? What makes you feel alive? Feel free to re-read that section.


In conclusion, I would just like to say thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that you have gleaned some insight from what I've written about. Hopefully, you can apply that as part of your way of living going forward. I hope as part of that, that you learn to enjoy your passions, and not restrict yourself in a way that makes you feel as though your passions are not worth your time. After all — is life lived, if it is not enjoyed?


コメント


bottom of page