Reasons Why I Followed My Passion and You Should Too!

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”                                                                                                   -C.S Lewis  

What ‘follow your Passion’ really means? And why you shouldn’t put your passion for approval from others. Here’s why!

@ The Positive Window

How do you know if you’re living a passion-driven life and following your passion? Passion was not my favorite word, until I discovered the magic of this word, later in my life sometime in 2011. Following your passion gives you a direction in your life, and a sense of purpose to walk this world, and to exist, and to grow and thrive.

We can either live a pattern-driven life [conventional way] or a passion-driven [unconventional new path] life! Decide what you want to pick? I’ve followed my passion this far, so read further to know why you should too! I’m not going to list the usual reasons why we follow our passion that you may find on the internet, but something deeper and empowering, that pushed me out of the rut of self-doubts and very low self-esteem.

This did not happen overnight for me either! I grew up in a time when we were forced to chose the ‘right career’ for ourselves, and everything depended on your scored marks, and academic results. And I was far too away from meeting my passions! Being an average student and sometimes below average in my academics, I decided to follow the conventional path of choosing a profession/career my family told me to. More than anybody, I wasn’t confident about my skills and talents. And thinking about pursuing a passion [at that time] would have proven wrong and disappointing as per the conventional and cliched beliefs. So I followed what felt like the right thing to do, then.

I dreaded going to work each and every day, because there was so much negativity, false competitions, and too much discouragement all around, at those workplaces! I hated my job, and my life for feeling stuck forever. All I wanted to do was to break free and build my professional career and life in a new way. I wanted to explore the paths that were waiting for me. I wanted to explore my limits, and to go beyond my fears and self-doubts that had kept me immobilized all these years. I wanted to forgive myself for being too harsh, and for not-believing in myself.

“Sometimes, life will kick you around, but sooner or later, you realize you’re not just a survivor. You’re a warrior, and you’re stronger than anything life throws your way.” ~Brooke Davis

I was determined not to let my doubts and fears get me down, but there were more than a few moments when I felt like overwhelmed and confused, and therefore decided to give up trying to do anything else in my life.

All the twists and curves I’d encountered in my professional career had left me with full of negative thoughts and doubting my ability to succeed in life. But I kept repeating to myself, don’t give up yet! I thought about it deeply and then later realized that I can take control of my life, my dreams, and can also pursue my passion [later I realized I’ve had set for multiple passions that kept me going until today!] by going to places I’ve never been, or by doing things [I like the most!] I’ve never done before!

I knew I was expecting something that might set me up for failures, disappointments, and some big risks; but I was ready to take the leap. I had to overcome my fears of traveling into the “unknown”, and something new.

I was literally crawling and was trying hard to survive in different jobs [that I didn’t like much!] until 2011- when the idea of pursuing my passion, my career in writing hit me really hard on my face, and that’s when I strongly believed I want to persist as a writer and as a future self help author.                                                        

And my journey of becoming a writer and an inspirational blogger started from that day. The more I read, the more I wrote, and the more I discovered new ideas for writing. I found a purpose and my lost aspiration for writing. But most of the time, this thought snuck into mind that, “you’re not good at writing.” And those limiting thoughts [that kept me away from trying writing for so many years] were coming from my past experiences that had been pulling me down for a very long time. It was time to stop listening to those strong destructive negative voices that kept appearing in my head. I decided to follow the path that I choose, even though it did not sound practical and easy, but I was sure that I’m not going to repress my voice of creativity and myself anymore! So, I was brave enough to understand and overcome whatever was pulling me down.

As writing became my passion, and I continued crafting inspirational positive articles, my timid attempts made me believe that I can write well, I can connect with people through my words, and I can make a difference in the world by sharing my stories and experiences.

We are all so unique, and the only way to connect with the universe is by fully expressing ourselves; that requires us to open our hearts and souls, and to let creativity flow through our bodies.

If you want to make an impact, it is very important to create your own life that’s meaningful to you, first. It is important to understand the strengths you’ve been gifted with, and how can you utilize those strengths and skills to inspire a purpose for yourself and for others.

A life infused with purpose and passion is a great way to attract abundance, increased motivation, better health, more joy, and to get on the path to fulfillment and inner awakening in your life.

I wanted to expand and explore my skills in doing the things that I’ve always purely enjoyed doing as a child, and while growing up; without worrying about money, income, or building a career that aligns with my passion, etc. And I picked up few more passions along the way, to continue enjoying this whole process of life- in a meaningful and passionate way like; dancing, photography, doodling, drawing, and creating videos, and social media graphics.

Our passion makes us come alive, and happy unconditionally. It is absolutely your choice to reflect on the details while choosing your passion, and if you want to continue doing it as a career, or just as a hobby, because that’s your true calling, and you like doing your passion because it make you happy, content, and and you enjoy exploring in those areas. You may decide if you want to strip away from reaching traditional successes, and or focus solely on the joy of doing, without worrying about achieving anything!

After I connected with my passions, I felt that they had always been there with me, but were muted by the external expectations, by my need for achievement, and my low self confidence.

If you’ve been in a similar situation like me, and have been conditioned to believe that your passion cannot help you in making a career, or cannot give you a happy fulfilling life, or you’re not so talented, or you do not possess the skills, or if you’ve been paralyzed by your fears and self-doubt, or if you’re feeling trapped in a purpose-less life, then try to follow the roadmap I ‘ve followed to recognize my purpose and passions in life. Listen to your true calling, and follow your intuition. The universe is leading you to your passion, for a reason. Look for the reasons [or things you like doing] that brightens up your entire world. When you do not worry about anything else, but just like doing your favorite thing[s] for the sake of simply feeling the joy of doing it- then you’ll know that you’ve aligned your life with your passion. Your passions can still be your passions, even if you don’t get paid for them! All we need to do is continue taking small steps each day, and the path will become clear as we go. The meaning will unravel, and everything will make sense. Until then keep going, and enjoy the journey. I am following my passion and so can you!