16 Things To Be Passionate About In Life

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What are you passionate about?

You might be trying to identify your passions so that you can find more happiness in life.

Or perhaps you think this will come up in a job interview and are trying to formulate a response.

Perhaps it’s a difficult question for you to answer right now.

Maybe you feel unmotivated, lethargic, or like your common interests have somehow lost their luster in the hustle and bustle of life?

Whatever your circumstances, you’re on this page looking for some common things to be passionate about.

So let’s cut to the chase. Here are 16 of the most popular passions.

1. Animals

Animals and pets serve as a comforting escape for so many people.

They are relatively uncomplicated, especially when compared to navigating the difficulties of work, life, relationships, and friendships.

Animals are fairly simple and offer unconditional love, which inspires similar passion in animal lovers and pet owners.

A passion for animals can extend to your own pets, volunteering at shelters, pet sitting, bird watching, dog walking, or just sitting at a dog park and watching the animals play.

2. Yourself

You will spend the rest of your life with yourself!

Investing passion into your self, your self-improvement, and future development is always a good investment.

Of course, that can be much easier said than done for a lot of people. Anything ranging from mental health problems to general set-backs in life can prevent a person from seeing their own value and worth.

A good way to spark passion in yourself is to do things worth feeling good about.

Do some volunteer work, help some random people out, or find a way to contribute positively to the world with the skill-set that you have.

These are things you can feel good about choosing to do, not just for others, but for yourself.

3. Hobbies

There are so many different hobbies and interests out there to take part in.

Developing a passion for a hobby, particularly a hobby that you can share with others, can really help ignite passion and creativity in other areas of your life.

Not only that, but other people tend to respond well to passion about hobbies, even if they aren’t all that interested in your specific hobby.

It’s interesting to listen to someone who is passionate and knowledgeable talk about their hobby or interest.

Hobbies can be found anywhere and everywhere. If an opportunity presents itself, try it out. Maybe it’s taking a dance class, perusing some collectible knick-knacks, or trying disc golf.

Pick something, try it out!

4. Art

Few things invoke passion in people like art, even if we aren’t necessarily an artist ourselves.

There is something to be said about the magnificence of seeing masterpieces of creativity, whether they are paintings, sculptures, writing, or anything that a person creates through their vision and effort.

Art may seem like an obvious thing, but it’s important to look at how people perceive art. You don’t have to be amazing at what you are creating to create something. No one starts off amazing at anything.

Yet, so many people throw away their own efforts just as they’re starting on their path because they don’t see it as good or easy.

So long as it makes you happy, that’s all that really matters. You don’t have to be producing masterpieces.

5. Uplifting Others

Kindness is an investment that always pays back dividends, not necessarily from the outside, but for one’s own peace of mind and soul.

People are social creatures and we benefit from socialization. In many ways, what we put out into the world is returned to us in the form of our own inner peace, happiness, contentment, and well-being.

That makes developing passion for others into something that can really help with our peace of mind and place in life.

Developing a habit for uplifting and helping others, whether it’s in your personal life or through charity work with others, is a great choice.

6. Learning

A passion for learning can open so many doors and broaden your horizons.

It’s not always about knowing the specifics and details of any last or little thing, knowing where to find the right answers is also an important skill to cultivate.

Learning is a gift that continuously gives to the person who is nurturing and growing their knowledge.

Learning also pairs well with experiences. It’s one thing to read a book or listen to a lecture, but actually going out and partaking in a new activity that you learned about can help you meet new people and develop a deeper understanding.

7. Simplifying

Life is a complicated machine with an infinite array of moving parts. Developing a passion for simplification can help bring everything into a more orderly focus.

Life, of course, is not always easy or predictable. Things will come out of nowhere that can affect your life either positively or negatively.

Simplification can help reduce your stress, make it easier to interpret situations, and make better decisions in the overall grand scheme of things.

A passion for simplification really starts with either fixing or removing convoluted parts of one’s life.

That may be relationships or friendships that have run their course, looking for a less stressful job, or thinning out a bunch of material items that you have no real use for anymore.

8. Health And Fitness

A passion for health and fitness will boost your well-being in the future.

The body is a machine that must be taken care of if we want it to perform well for an extended period of time.

Developing a passion for health and fitness will not only help with physical health, but it helps improve one’s mental health and overall well-being.

The best place to start is by consulting with your doctor to see what will be the best approach for improvement.

It’s always a good idea to get a medical opinion before embarking on any major dietary changes or taking on a new exercise routine.

9. Your Career

A career-minded person with a strong passion for what they do, whether it is something mundane or magnificent, can make a significant difference in the world and within their industry.

There are some loud voices and opinions shouting down the importance of passion and happiness about having a career, which is strange, since most of us are going to spend at least a third of our adult life working.

Finding peace, happiness, and passion in one’s career can make that time much less stressful.

And if you have a career that you don’t like or don’t feel passionate about, maybe it’s time to start looking at other options and exploring new opportunities before quitting your job and starting afresh.

There are so many roads to success and happiness out there. There’s no reason to force yourself onto just one.

10. Your Relationships

The people you spend your time with will have the biggest influence on your life.

So it pays to prioritize making those relationships as healthy as they can be by working on them.

Whether it’s your partner, your family, your friends, or your co-workers, understanding how each relationship works, and what you can do to promote harmony and care is a worthwhile passion to develop.

There are so many aspects to a relationship, but some of the key ones are to better understand a person and their behaviors, finding ways to build a real connection, and doing the necessary work to maintain those bonds.

11. Entrepreneurship

Forging your own path in the world of work and business can be both challenging and extremely rewarding.

Your passion needn’t be for money, but rather about doing something you enjoy, challenging yourself, and taking calculated risks.

You don’t even need to focus on a profit-making business. You are as much an entrepreneur if you start a charity than if you build a business.

It’s about being the master of your own destiny, being creative, being determined, and adapting to new circumstances by thinking on your feet.

12. Making A Better Society

We live in an imperfect world. There is no doubt about it.

But we all have the power within us to make that world just a little bit better.

That might be fighting for social justice, working for the environment, improving community relations, or something else.

Whatever it looks like, a passion for the overall improvement of the world we live in is very worthwhile.

13. Teaching

We’ve already talked about learning, but flip that around and you’ll find that teaching people something they do not currently know can be another thing to get excited about.

You don’t have to be an actual teacher in a school to teach people things.

You could be a manager helping your employees to develop their talents.

You could be a parent teaching your children in a multitude of different ways.

You could be an activist teaching people about the importance of a cause you believe in.

Sharing knowledge and helping people to grow is its own reward.

14. Your Faith

If your beliefs are important to you, they can definitely be considered a passion.

Maybe you partake in religious practices, spend time in prayer or contemplation, or socialize with the community your faith provides.

When you act in accordance with your beliefs, it shows that you are passionate about them.    

15. Taking Action

The ability to take action is what leads to positive changes in one’s life and well-being.

Well wishes, ideas, and inspiration is all quite cheap and shallow. Success in all things goes to the people who choose to take action and work on their goals.

Dedication and discipline are what keep people moving forward through the low times when they doubt themselves or their path.

Anxiety and fear fade away with action, because you gain experience and build confidence in your ability to tackle the things that are in front of you.

There is no more important passion in life to develop than one for taking action. Action is what leads to every single successful venture, whether it’s personal development or professional.

And it’s super easy to start! All you need to do is choose to do the work.

16. Life

Perhaps the ultimate thing to be passionate about is life itself.

This can mean different things to different people.

Perhaps you practice mindfulness in order to take each day and each moment as it comes.

Maybe you seek to experience new things and expand your horizons.

You may like to ponder the big questions about life and the universe to better understand your place in the world.

Whatever you are passionate about – now and in the future – don’t be ashamed of it.

Too many people are embarrassed to reveal their true passions for fear that they will be labelled as boring or stupid.

But if they matter to you, that’s all that should matter.

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About The Author

Jack Nollan is a person who has lived with Bipolar Disorder and Bipolar-depression for almost 30 years now. Jack is a mental health writer of 10 years who pairs lived experience with evidence-based information to provide perspective from the side of the mental health consumer. With hands-on experience as the facilitator of a mental health support group, Jack has a firm grasp of the wide range of struggles people face when their mind is not in the healthiest of places. Jack is an activist who is passionate about helping disadvantaged people find a better path.