Do I have any talents?
This chapter will help you find your passion and the things that you really like doing. Through this process, you will get to know more about yourself and identify your skills and talents.
“I don’t know what my passion is” is one of the most common phrases amongst the youth.
The majority tend to follow some paths that are successful or are accepted by society. But most times it is more important to do something that you love than doing something only to earn money.
“If we work on something that we love you will find your way to become successful and earn money”
Some of them have no idea about what to do, some others feel hopeless after trying different things and still feel unfulfilled, while others already know what they want but they are full of second thoughts.
Following the passion and the wants is not an easy path. Many people, sometimes even from the family, will say that is a waste of time. But when someone will find their passion they should stay focused on this and try their 100% to reach the goal.
But the question is “How to find my passion?”
Nowadays more and more people tend to feel unsatisfied even when they do what they want. And this happens because:
- We have too many options (we don’t know what to trade our money with).
- We desire things because others desire them.
- We find out what we don’t want after we get what we thought we wanted.
- We no longer desire once we get what we want.
- We desire too many things at once.
- We desire things NOW. We want instant gratification*.
gratification* means pleasure or satisfaction, or something which provides it.
Search for hobbies
The solution to this is to make research and expose ourselves to different forms of creation. Wikipedia has a huge list of hobbies that young people can find online and may help them find what they like most.
This list contains well-known hobbies such as gaming, acting or drawing but also you can find more unknown such as pressed flower craft, kendama and embroidery. They are organized in categories such as indoors and outdoors and for sure everyone can find some that seem appealing and they would like to try.
Instructions that you should give to young people:
- First of all, read all of them and make a list of these that you like and are willing to try.
- After this, you should place them in order of preference with the top of the list of your favorite ones and so on.
- You should start this hobby and give yourself a period of time to experience it. If you found your passion so easy, lucky you! If not continue by trying the next one on the list.
Which options fit the most with my character? Online tests that can help you find your passion
More information about the IKIGAI can be found in Chapters 2 and 3.
If these tests won’t be helpful, you can ask for help from a career counselor, a life coach or a person that you trust and you believe that knows you and can give you some good advice. The most important thing with this is to not follow what the others will advise you if your instinct says the opposite thing. In order to not be distracted or lost during this trip of “finding your passion” you should be able to answer some questions such as
