Tips for identifying your passions

Most college students face the question: What are you passionate about? 

It is important to identify your passions because they are a crucial factor in deciding what classes to take, what career to pursue, what internships to look into and where to devote your energy. 

If you’re anything like me, it’s overwhelming to narrow down your interests, values, ideas, worries, desires and hobbies to identify your true passions. Luckily, there are exercises you can do to distinguish your passions from all the other things you care about. 

Here are three tips to help you pinpoint your passions.

1. Take an intrinsic values test.

Intrinsic values are our most fundamental values. They are things you value for their own sake and would continue to value even if they caused no other effects. For example, you can’t intrinsically value money because you wouldn’t value it if it didn’t enable you to buy things. You can intrinsically value things like having pleasurable experiences, being honest, achieving inner peace, learning new things, etc. Intrinsic values can influence your behavior and goals in various ways, so understanding your intrinsic values and what they say about you is one step toward identifying your passions. 

Take the test here.

2. Ask yourself: What do I like doing so much I lose track of time?

Listing activities that make you lose track of time can help you identify your passions. For example: When I write or edit, I always lose track of time, but when I cook, clean or read I am usually aware of the time it takes. If you’ve ever started a task and gotten into a productive trance, pay attention to why you are so engaged in that activity. What aspect of it captures your attention? If you get “in the zone” while doing something and lose awareness of your surroundings, that is often a sign you are passionate about it. 

3. Ask yourself: What would I do with my life if I had no fear? If success were guaranteed? If money wasn’t an issue? 

Some of us hold ourselves back from realizing particular passions because we shut them down. Whether this reluctance is due to fear, a lack of confidence in your ability to succeed, a concern if your passion is profitable enough to sustain you,try to let go of (or at least compartmentalize) your limiting beliefs. It is much more challenging to identify your genuine passions when battling self-doubt. Once you have a clear idea of what you are passionate about, you can start to decide what passions are worth pursuing. But, if you shut things down before you get a chance to identify with a certain passion, you are selling yourself short.