A few months ago, I came across a blog written by actor Mark Ruffalo, which was discussing the question of how to find your passion.
I would like to share with you some excerpts from that blog.
He starts his blog by saying…
Do you know how to find your passion? I have been asked this so many times, and when people ask me, they often have a pained look in their eyes. They are looking for me to give them a simple answer and then they will go on their merry way to find their passion and live happily ever after.
Finding your passion is not always easy. Sometimes it takes work. Sometimes it’s even painful. It is not always fast but it can be done.
Here are some steps that might help you find your passion:
– Write down what you are good at doing. What do people come to you for and ask for your advice on? What do people compliment you on? What do you enjoy doing?
– Think about what you enjoyed as a kid? What did you play at? When did time pass quickly for you? The answers here can be very telling.
– Look at your role models and mentors, who do you admire the most? Who has made an impact on your
Do you know how to find your passion? I don’t. But I’ve heard plenty of people say it’s easy.
“Just follow your passion.”
That’s the advice we hear all the time, right? Follow your passion, and success will come chasing after you.
There’s just one problem with this apparently simple advice: It’s not always easy to know what our passion is.
I am a big fan of Mark Ruffalo: he’s an actor who has appeared in films like “Shutter Island,” “Now You See Me,” and “Foxcatcher,” and I think he’s also a great humanitarian, having spoken out on issues like hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). He’s a guy whom I admire for his talent and his heart.
Recently, he posted a message on his Facebook page that said this:
Do you know how to find your passion? I’ve been asked this question a lot, and it’s a good one.
I don’t think I always knew my passion, but once I figured it out, the rest of my life was a series of events that led me to where I am now. And there were some significant obstacles in the way.
But first, let’s clear up what we mean when we say “passion.” The word has been hijacked by marketers who want us to follow our dreams so that we can consume their products. Don’t get me wrong — working on something you love is great and makes life more enjoyable. But if your definition of passion is finding something you would do for free, then you need to re-think what that means in today’s world.
I have a lot of passions: my wife and kids are at the top of that list; acting is definitely another; the environment and sustainability are big ones too. These days, my wife and kids are my job, acting is my job and the environment is my job as well.
Same goes for you: find something you really love doing, become an expert at it, solve other people
So many people ask me, “What’s your passion?” or “How do you find your passion?” as if I have it all figured out. Well, I don’t. I mean, I’m passionate about acting and being an actor is my passion, but that doesn’t mean I know how to find your passion.
For instance, I am passionate about being a father and having a strong family but the truth is that I’m just as lost as anyone on that front. When it comes to the big question of how to find your passion in life or love or work or play, there are no clear answers.
For some reason we live in a society where we seem to think there is only one right thing for each and every person. That we all need to find our soul mate or our dream job and if we don’t then somehow we’ve failed. This idea is so absurd yet it has seeped into the collective consciousness and seems to have everyone chasing this elusive idea of finding their passion.
I think that we are all born with a unique set of gifts and talents and even though we should strive to live our lives in accordance with those gifts and talents, it doesn’t mean
You want to do something you love, but how do you find your passion?
What most people don’t realize is that finding your passion is a two-step process. First you must find what interests you and then you must narrow it down to a career path.
It probably sounds obvious, but the first step in finding your passion is simply taking time to think about what interests you. When I was younger I was interested in many things: art, science, math, and acting – just to name a few! Ultimately what I did was get involved with those interests. If you are interested in the theatre then go see a play or volunteer at a local theatre. If you like science then sign up for that class at school or get involved with an extracurricular science club. The point is, do it! Don’t just think about what interests you; take action and explore it.
So let’s say that after exploring your interests you now know what excites you, but how do you turn it into a career? My advice is to start by doing some research on the Internet or by speaking with someone who has knowledge of the field – preferably someone who works in the industry. Find out if there are any educational requirements or qualifications that need to be met
If you’re one of the lucky ones who knows what your passion is, congratulations. (I envy you.) But if you’re like me, there were several times in my life where I didn’t know what my passion was or how to find it.
In fact, I graduated from college not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. Like many of you, while I was in school, I studied things that interested me but never quite found my passion. The idea of finding a job that matched my passion seemed almost impossible.
And since I wasn’t exactly sure what my passion was (or even how to find it), I felt lost and confused about the next step in my life. After all, how could I get a job if I didn’t know what sort of job to look for?
A few managers contacted me and offered me great positions with their companies. However, after talking with them for a bit, it was clear that none of these jobs were related to what I was passionate about. All three positions were more about selling products than creating them from scratch. These jobs simply were not for me.
I took some time off from work and spent months trying to figure out what interested me the most and where my true passions lie. During this
It was a difficult process to find my passion. Acting is not something that I ever even knew existed as a career path. I saw some plays, but what young person doesn’t think that actors are all rich and famous? The only thing I knew about being an actor was that you had to be really good looking and brilliant!
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin with my mom, stepdad, and two sisters. My father moved away when I was quite young and we rarely saw him. I didn’t know my real dad until I was 13 years old. He came back into our lives from time to time but he always left again; he was an alcoholic who eventually died of AIDS when I was 22 years old.
I went to college for a short time and then dropped out because it wasn’t for me. I worked at a series of dead-end jobs and couldn’t figure out what direction to go with my life. One day, a friend of mine told me about how much fun he had in his acting class and suggested that I take the same class with him. I thought it sounded like fun so I signed up for the next session.
At first, it seemed like nothing more than an activity we did together to pass the time;
