Many conversations I have with people regarding personal innovation and development usually deals with an individuals personal passion for something.  I usually ask, what their passion is.  A majority of people simply don't know or state that they are still searching for it.  I feel that every one of us not only has a singular passion but like a smart phone we have multiple passions, somewhat like apps and we pick and choose the different passion apps to apply to our lives.  I wanted to discover why some people don't know what their passion is and why some continue to seek their passions even as years pass by and I ask the question again, yet get the same answer.  Below is the result of multiple interviews with people I have had discussion with about this very topic and how to find and discover your passion(s).

Before I begin my bullet pointed list, I have learned that some people limit their belief that they can have multiple passions in their lives.  Somewhere along the way in their life, they have the notion that to have passion for something, it should only be a singular focus.  Do you or have you felt this way?  In reality we actually have multiple things that we love to do and could develop a passion for.  I feel that when we limit ourselves to the notion that we are only constricted to one or two passions we could have, we freeze our spirit and minds up to really give claim to our passions in our life.  For example, I have a passion for photography, writing, selling, traveling and eating good food.  I have tried many different things and could say I am good at each one of those I have selected, but by experimenting in different activities, I discovered if I truly enjoyed doing the activity or realized that I had no passion for it.  For example,  I was always fascinated with oil paintings and wanted to be able to create a masterpiece myself, so I went out and got myself an oil painting set, canvas and book.  I gave it a try for about 3 months and as I was learning and actually doing the paintings, I came to realize that I was not really into it and you can say, I didn't have a passion for it, yet I have an appreciation for viewing oil paintings.  So the next time someone asks you, "what are you passionate about", you can give them more than one answer.

Here are some ways to help you discover your passions:

• Enjoy Talking About: What is it that you enjoy talking about?  If someone brings up a certain topic, do your ears perk up and you pay full attention?  If you ask questions after questions with the undying need to learn more, then maybe this is something you could be passionate about.
• Enjoying the Research: If you catch yourself enjoying the time spent learning and researching an activity and the time seems to just pass by, then this might also be a candidate as a passion.
• Feeling Good: Pay attention to your feelings, if you feel good when you do something, this is a personal enjoyment that a particular activity fulfills within your own needs.
• Experiment: Be open to trying different things and experiencing different activities to see if something catches you.  Passion will be natural and you will feel a calm joy or at times extreme joy when doing that particular activity.  Unless you try different things, you will never realize the different passions you just might have.
• Let Passion Find You: Sometimes we don't have to even go out and actively look for our passions, it will come naturally and sometimes even come to you.  Just be aware of your feelings and to accept the different levels of joy you could have.
• What you do during your free time: What do you usually do when you have free time and choose to do?  These might be your passion(s), it could be something as simple as reading books to watching clouds, each individual has something that brings them joy.  It does not have to be something that will bring you an income, that is what a career will do, but a passion for something deals with your emotions and feelings, so don't just limit it within the same bucket as a job/career.
• Step out of your comfort zone: Do something different, do something that scares the heck out of you, be open minded and discover the hidden wonders of the world and see if the passion bug grabs onto you.
• You Can't wait to do it again: If once you finish something you are passionate about and you have to stop, you look forward to doing it again.  This is passion.
• Gives you energy: If you are not passionate about something, usually you will need to really self motivate yourself to get up and do it, but if you have passion for something, you will willingly do it and even if you had lack of sleep the night before, you will gain the natural energy to just keep going, this is the natural high that a passion brings to your spirit.
• Get Better: When you are passionate about something, you tend to want to improve and get better at doing it, you are thirsty for more information and discovering a new trick or way of doing it better brings you even more joy.
• Write a Passion Journal: When you get the great feeling of joy when doing something, keep a simply passion journal and document how you felt and what you did.  If you continue to keep writing the same things over and over again, guess what, there is your passion.  Writing it down always helps me recall multiple emotions and thoughts over time and over time as things combine, you could get a really good picture of what you are passionate about.

If these tips don't help and you still find yourself seeking, then maybe it is the search that you are passionate about.  You are looking for that extreme rush of joy that you think you might obtain and ignoring the joys of certain activities because it didn't bring a certain emotion you were expecting to have.  Writing to many people could be an absolute bore but to me, I simply love writing.  If you have any type of joy or happy feeling when doing something, maybe you need to take more time to develop the needed skills or talents to really appreciate the art behind what you are doing to claim that you are passionate about it.

Remember, passion for something can and will change over time. i am sure some of us enjoyed playing with toys when we were younger but grew out of it and discovered new passions.  As we age we are still growing and developing as we move into each year with new understanding and wisdom that life brings.  Your passions might change, accept this natural change and embrace the new passions that come your way.  Some things stay with you forever, and these are the deep passions that took root within you.