“Just follow your passion!” You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again from well-meaning family members, guidance counselors, Disney movies, and online motivational speakers. Yeah, sure, you’d love to follow this advice—if only you knew what your passion was.
Fortunately, there are practical ways to discover it. If you’re feeling stuck, here's how to find your passion in six steps. Take time to work through the process—and know that you’ll be getting closer to where you want to be, no matter what.
What does “passion” even mean?
In the Cambridge Dictionary, passion is defined as “an extreme interest in or wish for doing something.” The keyword here is extreme. “A passion is something that aligns with your core values and energizes you,” says Dr. Max Riv, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Love Discovery Institute. “They can feel like a part of your identity, often driving you to spend significant time and effort mastering or pursuing it.” When you're not dedicating time to your passion, you may feel unfulfilled or dissatisfied.
Are hobbies considered passions?
Hobbies aren’t necessarily passions, but they can evolve into them. A hobby is often an activity you engage in occasionally. You enjoy it, but it doesn’t necessarily give you a sense of purpose.
“A hobby is a pastime—a way to unwind or recharge in your spare time,” says Cody Thomas Rounds, clinical psychologist and career advisor. “It’s a form of self-care, often pursued without external pressure or expectations.”
Passions, however, require more effort and involvement. “While hobbies can bring balance and joy, passion demands something more—it asks for investment, growth, and even risk,” Rounds says. “It’s the difference between enjoying gardening on the weekends and dedicating your life to sustainable farming or landscape design.”
A hobby can evolve into a passion if you decide to pursue it more seriously, perhaps even full-time. For example, someone who enjoys reading as a hobby might eventually study literature and become a teacher. Social media is full of examples of hobbies that turned into passions and full-time occupations, such as makeup content creators, cooking channels, and fitness influencers.
How to find your passion in 6 steps
“Passion doesn’t always appear as a lightning bolt of inspiration—it’s more often a quiet ember that needs fanning,” Rounds says. If you're unsure of what your passion is, here’s a realistic six-step guide to help you find it:
1. Start with a positive perspective
If you went into a restaurant thinking, “I’m not hungry. There’ll be nothing here I want to eat. I don’t want to be here,” the menu isn’t going to look appealing. You won’t give it your time or attention, and you’re unlikely to find food you’ll enjoy. The same principle applies to passion-seeking.
If you’re convinced that finding your passion is hard, or that it’s not going to happen for you, you’ll remain closed to possibilities. You’ll block the little nudges, pulls, and signals that guide us. After all, how can you expect to find fulfilling work if you don’t believe it exists? Instead, choose to adopt the perspective that you can do what you love with your life and you will find your passion.
One of the best ways to strengthen this point of view is to surround yourself with and talk to people who are living examples. If you have friends and family who are following their passions, have a conversation with them about how they found what they loved and made it their career or a significant part of their lives.
It might also be a good time to expand your circle; associate with—and be inspired by—people who love their work. You can start on LinkedIn or with alumni groups—reach out to the people who seem to be following their passion and set up a few informational interviews.
2. Assess what you already enjoy doing
Once you’ve decided that your passion is findable, it’s time to look for evidence of what you already love to do. If you scan the landscape of your life, you’ll notice certain experiences peak up above the horizon. It’s so valuable to delve into these “peak moments” and extract the key ingredients.
Think of all the experiences you’ve had that you’ve loved most—without limiting yourself just to work experiences—and investigate what made them so fulfilling. If there was a job you loved, ask yourself these questions:
- What were your tasks?
- What kind of work environment was it?
- What was the company working toward?
- Who did you get to interact with?
- What was most exciting and/or satisfying?
Consider yourself a beach-trawler, discerning between the gold and the cheap metal. For example, one of my favorite summer jobs involved teaching English to teenagers. I assumed the key ingredient was the English language, or young people. However, when I paid attention, it became clear that what moved me was being a leader within a community and teaching something of great value to them.
Perhaps, you still reminisce about the trip you took to Europe after college. Did you love it because you saw new things and learned about new cultures? Or because of the people you were with? Or maybe it was the problem-solving you had to do to make it from one country to the other on a budget? Look for themes that come up a lot or that you feel strongly about—these are your key ingredients.
3. Explore ways to tie your interests together
When you look at all the ingredients that matter to you, they might at first seem entirely disconnected. Let’s say you love speaking French, playing with words, analyzing and categorizing, and being a leader within a community. How could you construct a career from these? It’d be like peering into your Chopped basket and seeing cocoa powder, tofu, and carrots and wondering: How could I possibly make something delicious that includes all of these?
This is the time to look beyond the ingredients and choose a meal; something that all of these ingredients can come together to make. For example, my colleague Abby—whose diverse passions are described above—helps business owners to find the right words to fit their brand.
Part of what Abby does is analyze and categorize copy into what she calls “voice values.” She draws wisdom from previously running a funky French lifestyle boutique, and French words pepper her own copy, giving her brand that special je ne sais quoi.
What kind of career would allow you to incorporate as many of your ingredients as you can? Take into account not just job duties, but work environments, company goals and missions, and even how this career would fit into the life you want outside of work.
4. Discern a hobby and a profitable passion
Through this exploration, you might fall head over heels in love with an activity that engrosses you—something that lights you up and makes your heart sing. But now you have to ask yourself the next question: Who would benefit from (and pay for) this?
Well, if you want to contribute your passion to society and make an income from it, you need to get realistic about whether this could actually turn into a career—and what you would need to do to make that happen.
For example, my client Lisa loves to draw. She makes art for the sheer joy of it. When Lisa attempted to turn this profitable business, she realized that the market that was hungriest for her talents were business owners who needed illustrations for their blogs, websites, and products. This felt like play to Lisa, but in order to make her services marketable, she also needed to add tech skills to her toolkit, so that her design work could be usable online by her ideal clients.
So, do your research. This is another step where networking and informational interviews are your friend. Talk to people who are following the same passion and find out if they’re making a living off of it, how, and what other skills and work go into making your passion profitable. There are also plenty of free online resources that can point you toward a plausible career that builds on particular interests.
For example, if your passions involve writing and reading, you can check out our list of high-paying writing jobs for people who love words. You should also think about whether you would enjoy doing these things for a living. For some people a passion is just fun, and turning it into work changes it from a “love to do” to a “have to do” and they’re no longer excited about it.
5. Break down your fears to overcome them
When you seek your passion, there’ll be parts of you that go into rebellion. We all have a huge number of fears—around failure, success, visibility, and vulnerability—that speak in sensible voices, instructing us that we mustn’t do what we love. If you let these voices win, your passion will remain out of your grasp.
Instead, look for the fear beneath each supposedly reasonable voice. Uncover the years of conditioning—from parents, school, partners, and colleagues—and reassure the mutinying parts that your ship is sailing in the right direction. In other words, figure out why you might be resisting following your passion and what you need to do to assuage your fears.
For example, if you’re afraid of not having enough money to get by, you might consider saving up before making any big moves—or starting to pursue your passion on the side while working a full-time job. If you’re convinced you’re not good enough to succeed doing what you’re passionate about, break down why you think that and if these fears are ultimately unfounded or if they’re stemming from wanting to hone certain skills or learn more.
6. Find your right next step
On my own journey, I’ve mostly lived by the motto: “Leap and the net will appear.” I’ve noticed I couldn’t find the new until I’d said farewell to the old. With each step into the unknown—for example, giving my notice at my part-time salaried job to go fully self-employed—my announcement to the universe has been: “I’m available. I’m serious about this.” However, that doesn’t need to be your method.
Find your own version of brave. Discover what risks work for you. Maybe you don’t have the option to leave your job without a guaranteed income, but maybe you can enroll in a class connected to your passion or look for a new job that helps you gain a skill you’ll need to reach your goal. The path of passion is where you do things that scare you enough, without leaving you in a constant state of fear. Expand your comfort zone, rather than leaving it.
How to turn a passion into a career
First and foremost, decide whether turning your passion into a career is what you truly want and assess the risks of this decision. “Monetizing your passion can turn joy into pressure, changing how you relate to the activity you once loved,” Rounds says. “While for some, this is a dream realized, for others, it can erode the very spark that made the passion special.”
Once you're sure you want to turn your passion into a career, outline a plan of action. Here are three key steps:
Identify your passion’s value to others
Whether you want to become self-employed or make a career shift, your passion has to have value to someone—so you can get paid for it. Take time to research where it would fit in the job market or how you can turn it into a service for people.
For instance, if you want to make a living out of your passion for sports, the options range from becoming a fitness instructor or a sports coach to working with sports journalism and content creation.
Upskill yourself
During your self-discovery journey, you may realize that certain skills are necessary to pursue employment related to your passion. Make a list of what you need to learn and explore online certifications, workshops, and training opportunities.
Start with a side hustle
Making an abrupt shift in your professional life is often challenging and overwhelming, so it's best to start small. “If turning a passion into a career feels daunting, blending it with your job or pursuing it as a side hustle can still be fulfilling,” Riv says. “Consider volunteering, freelancing, or taking small steps to test the waters before fully committing.”
Find a mentor or a career coach
If your passion differs significantly from your current work, you may need professional help to make the transition. A mentor in your desired field or a career coach can provide the guidance you need, as well as help you with resume writing and directing you to job opportunities.
Give yourself a reasonable timeline
The initial excitement of discovering your passion might lead you to set unrealistic goals, like completely changing your life in just a few months. This can cause burnout and frustration. While your current job may feel bothersome or uninspiring, avoid rushing the process. “Passion isn’t fixed; it’s a journey,” Riv says. “Focus on what excites you daily and be open to how your passions evolve.”
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FAQs
Is it possible to have no passion in life?
It's not impossible, but it's unlikely. “It’s possible to feel disconnected from passion, but it’s rarely a permanent state,” Rounds says. “People often struggle to recognize their passion because they’ve been conditioned to value practicality over joy or haven’t had the time or privilege to explore what genuinely excites them.”
To overcome this feeling, give yourself time to explore your interests, rather than pressuring yourself to feel passionate about something. “If you feel passionless, start by asking what makes you curious or what activities feel effortless,” Rounds says. “Think less about ‘finding’ a passion and more about creating opportunities to discover one through exploration, play, and risk.”
Is it too late to find my passion?
It’s never too late to discover your passion. Many successful people have changed their careers (and lives) after turning 30. Even if a full career shift feels daunting, you can still turn your passion into a side hustle or pursue it in your free time for personal fulfillment.
How do I find a career I'm passionate about?
Start by following our guide to discovering your passion. Once you have it figured out, look for jobs in that field and assess the skills required to enter that industry. Next, work on gaining the necessary knowledge and abilities, and begin applying for positions. You might also consider starting with a side hustle and transitioning to full-time work when you’re ready.
Why is finding your passion so hard?
People often struggle to find a passion due to a combination of factors like fear of failure, overthinking, and external expectations, Riv says. “Passion requires curiosity, trial and error, and patience; something we’re not always taught to embrace.”
Plus, you might not be looking in the right places. “Cultural forces often define certain passions as more desirable than others, leaving those who don't fit the mold feeling out of place,” Rounds says. “For instance, someone with a deep passion for logic, systems, or problem-solving might not see their interests as ‘passions’ if the culture around them celebrates artistic or creative pursuits instead.”
Rounds adds that some passions may be latent, waiting to be discovered through exploration or experimentation, but societal pressures and a lack of opportunity often get in the way. “Societal expectations, fear of failure, and even a lack of exposure to diverse activities can make the process of identifying a passion more challenging,” he says.
Regina Borsellino and Amanda Cardoso contributed writing, reporting, and/or advice to this article.