Finding Your Passion

I feel incredibly blessed to have been raised by parents who tell me that I can be anything I want to be.

Since moving to Japan, they have supported me, visited me multiple times, liked every social media post, and listened to my constant ramblings about life in Japan. Did they even have an interest in Japan before I came here?

The problem is, I don’t know what I want to be. I have lots of ideas but nothing that really jumps out at me with ‘I am your passion, pick me.’

I am spoiled for choice.

I have always been jealous of people who seem to have it figured out. From a young age they know exactly what they want to do and charge towards it with a kind of confidence that makes me wonder if they know something that I don’t.

I have read so many blogs, listened to so many TED talks, and spoken with so many people about how to find your passion.

Some people tell you to try a variety of jobs to get a better feel for who you are. Others recommend taking a personality test so that you can be matched with your ideal job, almost like the book Divergent.

One piece of advice that I particularly like is to find a problem with the world and then work towards fixing it. In other words, build your career around fixing the world's problems. While I like this idea a lot, and want to get on board with it as much as possible, it still doesn't really help narrow down the choices. The world has lots of problems, how do I choose one?

Don't worry, this blog post is not just a bunch of life questions thrown down in defeat. Although many people do give up and settle for enjoying life outside of work, which is a perfectly valid option as well, I would like to share with you my new favorite theory.

Just pick one. It doesn't matter how or why, you could flip a coin if you truly can't decide. The epiphany is not coming. There's no point waiting for it. You're not the chosen one, a letter from Hogwarts is not on its way to your door. You have to make a choice and in the words of Nike, just do it.

There are two possible outcomes in this scenario. The first is that you get half way down the road and realise that it's not what you want to do at all. While this sucks, especially if you have invested a lot of time and money, it wasn't a waste. You know for sure now that your passion is not this, and that is a step forward.

The other possible outcome is that you find something that interests you enough to continue down this path a little further. It may be your passion, or it may be something that you feel will lead you to your passion.

So, I have exciting news. I have made a choice. Of all the possible career paths I have picked one, and have started the wheels in motion to make it a reality. I have no idea if this will lead me to my passion or not, but I am pretty sure it's better than sitting on my hands and not making a decision.

I will let you know how it turns out.


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