Using Your Passion Project To Find Your Purpose

From the time I was eighteen and tasked with projecting a major for my college career, I knew I could never do just one thing. I had an interest in this, I had an interest in that, I was good at this, my mother saw me as that – yet I had no idea what direction to go in. Finally, after changing my major from psychology to legal communications, I found the major that made me happy. I was learning about things that I thoroughly enjoyed in a wide array of subjects that included: linguistics, intercultural communication, and legal research. I graduated happily and landed a job as a law clerk as I prepare for law school during my time off. I was elated and felt accomplished but as time passed I realized something else was missing.

I knew it had to do with me having many passions and feeling like I wasn’t pursuing them fast enough. I felt like I’d been in school for twenty-one years of my life, and the one thing I wasn’t taught was how to figure out my passion and my purpose. I couldn’t choose just one thing. It didn’t help that I hadn’t had much experience with any of my interests so I didn’t know which one I liked the most or the least.

In 2013, a Gallup study about the American workplace found that only 30% of people felt inspired or engaged at work, and I’ve always known I wanted to be a part of that 30%. After speaking with my father, he explained to me that this is the time of my life that I should use to explore all of those interests, and when I find the right thing it will feel right.  Although I loved my job, I was still on a quest to feel that inspiration and engagement to make me happy. The answer to that void I felt was a passion project.

What is a passion project you might ask. Passion projects are projects that allow you to explore and/or create something you enjoy or have been interested in. For lack of a better phrase, they give you “that warm fuzzy feeling inside.” One of the best factors of passion projects is that you can control how it’s executed. You control the time frame you hope to complete it in, how much of yourself you dedicate to the project, and you decide what your passion project seeks to achieve. These projects can be short term or long term and could potentially turn into a business if you’re lucky.  A passion project can also vary from doing something completely on your own or joining a team to achieve one shared goal. One thing to keep in mind when you start these projects is not to spread yourself too thin so that you are able to give 100% to all that you have committed to. This is a great time to learn your limits and spend your time sampling various interests with each project should you decide to conquer more than one.

Questions I asked myself/encourage you to ask yourself if you also face this issue are:

• What do I ENJOY doing?
• What can’t I go a day without doing?
• If money didn’t matter what would I be doing?
• How can I gain experience with this passion efficiently and within my budget?
• Are there organizations I can join/volunteer with that do this?
• Do I have friends that share this interest?

What did I decide to make my first passion project. It was joining Black to Business. I’ve always had a passion for black-owned businesses and wanted to inform people of their value to the Black community. This project has made me substantially happier from the moment that I started. It has saved me from feeling unfulfilled and like I wasn’t doing enough.  The main lesson I learned throughout this journey of discovery was if you have many goals and passions, passion projects are important.

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela

Let me know how your passion project(s) go in the comments!