4 Levels of Discovering What You’re Truly Passionate About
People are always saying we should do what we are passionate about. But for most of us, developing hobbies and passions sounds exhausting after working a full-time job and tending to family and other responsibilities. Sure, there are things we do for fun, but these days a lot of that centers around streaming shows, having dinner or wine with friends, and other ways to enjoy our free time.
Passion goes a little deeper than just having fun. It can be the jet fuel we need to power through difficult times or take us to places we’ve never been. It can mean the difference between being happy and just being content.
But how do you develop a passion as an adult with a full workload and busy life?
Just like anything else, if we break down what developing a passion looks like, we can find small pockets of time to explore.
I developed my passion for art and design in my thirties while working full-time, and I have outlined what that process looked like, from simple curiosity to spending a large part of my free time on passion projects. These projects have gone from interests to hobbies and now are bleeding into my career in a way that makes me feel like the sacrifices of time and energy were worth it.
4 Levels of Developing a Passion
These are the 4 levels of developing your passions, each one building upon the other:
Curiosity
Interest
Dedication
Mastery
Each level is detailed below, including examples of what it looks like to develop a passion as a working adult.
1. Getting Curious
The first step to developing your passions is to get curious. Write down a few things that you’re curious about and see where a Google search takes you. It can be as simple as why plants are green or as complicated as a historical topic like how and why the electoral college was formed. Before you know it, you might go down a rabbit hole and have a whole new area of interest.
The idea here is that curiosity is valuable in and of itself, and it can be the initial spark that helps you discover your passions.
A good example of how curiosity can turn into a passion project and then a career move is Jonathan Van Ness's podcast turned Netflix show, Getting Curious.
They first used the audio format of a podcast to begin the journey of curiosity. This is a smart move because a podcast doesn’t require as much budget or time to create as a TV show would. So, the podcast created a great space for JVN to develop this concept. And the show is engaging and entertaining, making getting curious sound a lot more fun.
2. Pursuing Your Interests
In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert walks us through her creative process, including the highs and lows of the craft of writing. The book documents the creation of some of her popular works, including the book The Signature of All Things. This work of fiction was inspired by an interest in botany that she followed from random curiosity all the way through, making it a theme in her novel.
This is an excellent example of how curiosity turns into interest and where that can converge with your career.
The difference between simple curiosity and personal interest is more about how much time you spend focused on what you’re curious about. Sometimes we just find ourselves in a rabbit hole on YouTube or social media, and before we know it, we are following makers and creators and have an understanding of something we just thought was cool at first.
3. From Interested to Dedicated
Once something is a full-fledged interest, the next level would be dedication, which has to do with sacrificing time, energy, and usually some money to dedicate part of your schedule to develop this interest further.
The best analogy for this is dating. You can be interested in several different people when you first start putting yourself out there. But usually, one person goes from someone who captures your interest to someone you’re constantly texting, talking to, or face-timing with. Eventually, that initial spark of interest turns into a part of your life that may be there forever and turn into more.
From a practical perspective, I would say a dedication is also something you add to your calendar. Using the example of developing an interest in art, you could say watching process videos on YouTube is an interest, whereas scheduling time at an art studio to work on a project is a dedication.
4. Mastering Your Passion
Continuing with the dating example, mastery is similar to getting to know somebody inside out. After dedicating so much time and attention to something, you inevitably develop a level of mastery. Even the most talented of musicians need time spent practicing to master their craft. And this is the point where they can perform in front of an audience.
In the case of a visual artist, mastery is when you have done enough work to show a piece in a gallery. This is also the point where you can begin to teach others. Before you know it, being dedicated to a particular interest can change your life. The student becomes the master. The implications of this for your career can be game-changing.
It all begins with curiosity. Whether sports, the arts, social causes, or entrepreneurial interests, your dedication to your passion can change your life. This isn’t a process that can be completed overnight, but over time, you can inject passion into your life and even tie it to your income and career path.
Seem too good to be true? It’s not. Here are 5 examples of people who followed their passions to find ultimate career success.
So, what are you curious about?
