Friday, March 15, 2013

ZenHabits: The Short but Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion

In November of 2009, Leo Babauta wrote a post that begins like so:

Following your  passion can be a tough thing. But figuring out what that passion is can be even more elusive.
Yes.  This.  Kind of why I started this blog, in fact.

So what does Leo recommend? Well, he recommends asking yourself some good questions... the kind that always stump me.

So, yeah, I'm gonna be needy and let you answer these questions for me, if you feel so inclined.  If not, or in addition, please comment with your answers for yourself, too.  I want to hear this!

1. What are you good at?
Yeah, I always get stuck here.  Help?

2. What excites you?
Um... when stuff I look forward to actually goes right?  I don't know, when have you seen me get excited?

3. What do you read about?
An easy one at last! There are two overarching categories, although my reading is eclectic enough that you'll always find stuff outside them:

A) People changing/saving the world.  This results in a lot of histories and biographies, and a lot of scifi/fantasy.

B) People rethinking the world(s) with which they're presented.  This results in a lot of deconstructions and fanfiction.

Themes!  Finally! Huzzah!

4. What have you secretly dreamed of?
Well, last night I dreamed I was a character on a TV show, but not only did I know it was a TV show, I had seen the episode before, so I was kind of like a psychic.  That was pretty cool.

But if we're not being literal, I only have broad, vague shapes. Make a difference. Matter. It would be nice if more than a dozen people showed up at my funeral. More specifically?  That's tough, but I've always said that if I won the lottery, I'd put the money in a trust, and have my trustee only pay me my weekly salary if I hit that week's specific goal in my writing.  I do best with a boss, you see, but creative endeavors don't really work that way.

It would be cool if this blog got a book deal, of course.


Once you answer the questions, he recommends:

5. Learn, ask, take notes
Well, that's what we're doing here, isn't it?

6. Experiment, try
I need to do more of this, but see #9, below.

7. Narrow things down
Yeah, I'll get to that once I broaden up, won't I?

8. Banish your fears
Hahahahaha!  Have you met me? You've heard the "If everything isn't perfect [chain of bizarre logic] and I will starve to death with no one loving me!" monologue, right?

9. Find the time
You know how when you're laughing hysterically, and then you hear something that's less funny, but still funny, and it sets you off again?  Well... Hahahahahaha!

10. How to make a living doing it
*Giggle, snort* Yeah, ok, doing what?


So Leo's list is a good one, but I think we all know I have a loooooong way to go.  But, as I've said more than once in this post alone, that's what we're here for.

How about you?


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2 comments:

  1. I don't know if sitting at a pool or beach drinking cool beverages can count as a passion, because that's about as close as I get. It's those simple questions you think you should have answers to that worry me when I don't.

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  2. Exactly! I'm supposed to be a grown-ass adult, and I don't even know what I'm good at? Ouch.

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