Following your Childhood Dreams, and Finding your Passion

Nov
2013

I am fascinated lately by the idea of following your childhood dreams and finding your passion. Do you remember what your childhood dreams were? Before you had limitations and responsibilities put on you. When you were young the world was your oyster. You could do anything your heart and mind could dream up. How did you think you would like to live when you were older? What dreams and aspirations did you have? How did you envision yourself living the life of your dreams.

Sometimes the hardest part of following your dreams is knowing what those dreams are. Finding your passion is easier for some than for others. Some of us know clearly what it is we would love to be doing, but most of us go through life still wondering what it is we want to do when we grow up even in our later years. Below I have some tips for helping you to discover your passion and purpose in life, if you haven’t discovered it yet.

If we can go back to those earlier thoughts and to our childhood dreams – if we can push through the blocks, baggage, restrictions, limiting thoughts and fears that we have built up; if we can push through all of the conventions that media and society has instilled in us of how we should be living our lives (buy a home, go to school and work 9 to 5 kind of scenario) then we can get clues to what really excites us and makes us passionate again about life.

The Last Lecture

There was a famous lecture by Randy Pausch that inspired many to follow their childhood dreams, The Last Lecture. It was hearing someone I know say this video this really changed their life that made me think more about what childhood dreams I had. I always loved to cook and was happiest in the kitchen. But I always took that for granted (who doesn’t love to cook? I thought everyone) and looked beyond that for what to do when I grew up. Sometimes our biggest passion and dream is the most obvious one, which confirms to me again that life is supposed to be easy. It is not meant to be so difficult.

It also made me think of something unusual, something for another time and post.. but something that really made me go ‘Hmm!!’ (ok, I’ll share, I wanted all of my possesions to fit in a backpack!)

So what are your childhood dreams?

This post is to get you back to thinking through those pure eyes of your younger self. What do you really love to do? What makes you happiest? Perhaps you already have discovered and are pursuing the life of your dreams. If so, kudos! If not, it’s time to grab life by the horns and figure out a way to make those dreams come true.

Clues to find your passion

Your personality: How do your friends describe you? What adjectives do they use?

Your goals: How do you define success? What would your ideal lifestyle look like?

Your traits: What type of jobs are you really good at? What do you really dislike doing?

Your legacy: What would you like to be known for? If you were not here anymore, what would you like people to say about you?

I will suggest that before you take on this next part that entails actually getting a pen and paper and making a real list, to do some stretching or yoga. Move: go for a run, dance, burpee, but stretch also. Do something to get the blood moving and makes you feel flexible. A flexible body leads to a flexible mind. It’s true. Ok, now grab your pen and paper.

Make a list of interests and passions from these questions

List them all and if you have many, you can narrow them down below.

1. What makes you come alive? What ignites a fire in your soul and really lights you up?

2. What is it you could do that you love so much that you would be amazed to even get paid doing it? What would you love to do even if you weren’t getting paid for it?

3. What are your interests? What excites you right now?

4. What were your interests? What is it that you used to love to do? Maybe these interests were supressed for various reasons: ie. you didn’t think they were valuable, others criticised them etc.

5. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

Now narrow them down

Here is a good streategy to narrow them down. It’s easy but it works. Compare the first two, if you could only choose one which would it be? Compare the winner with the next on the list in the same way. In this manner work your way down to either one or just a few options.

Following your dream is your purpose in life.

You are unique and only you will have this passion, and be able to express it and communicate it to others in the way that you do. Your communicating your passion could transform the world. You could inspire a few, or many, to live fuller, happier, more passionate lives as well. Following your passion is not only living the best life ever for you, but a gift that you give to others and give back out to the world.

Today, I urge you to spend some time to dicover what your passion is and think on how to spend more time doing what you love. Figuring out how to follow your dream is perhaps one of the most worthy things that you could be spending time on. Give some of your precious, valuable time to daring to dream, reflect on what makes you happiest, and rediscovering what makes you excited to be alive.

Life is more fun for each of us when we are having fun together!