Can Your Passion Become Your Purpose? Here are 3 insights.

I’m an avid reader. And in particular, the genre of self-help books has become my thing since my dad gifted me a copy of 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey for my thirteenth birthday. So back in the day, the idea of reading and reviewing books seemed alluring to me. I wondered if it were too good to be true, or if my passion really could become my purpose.

I’ve come a long way from there. And I’d like to share my insights because of the volume of questions I get from puzzled spiritual seekers that are aching to quit their jobs and do something more “fulfilling”.

Let’s start from the middle of the story.

The first thing I told my husband that I’d pack in my bags to Vancouver, were my books. I dreamed of having a giant library. One that I could hopefully use a ladder to navigate because the books were so high above me!

And yet, a year into being here in my new home, reading was slipping away for me. I wasn’t sure why. I mean, I was getting tons of complimentary spiritual books in the mail for reviews and I would get to interview the authors and make new friends!

Does it even get better than that? Or so I logically kept telling myself.

Slowly but finally, the answer came to me. And I’m sharing all this with you because you might be making a similar mistake. See how this applies to you.

Insight #1: Some hobbies should stay hobbies. 

Reading was always my idea of ‘me-time’. And I was infamous for moving on to a new book if something I’m reading didn’t resonate within the first 50 pages. But when I started receiving books for review, I felt pressured to read even the stuff that I wasn’t truly enjoying.

They weren’t bad books, but sometimes they were just not my kind of books. The truth is, as much as I’m happy to support other authors, I had to learn to put a full stop and go back to reading the stuff that made ME happy.

So my takeaway from the experience was that when you make your passion your purpose, the tradeoff becomes needing to show up for the purpose, even if you’re not feeling inspired to on some days.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes, it can even make people resentful towards the very thing they so loved doing before. Therefore, if you’re truly willing to make a switch, it’s important to be prepared to navigate the tradeoff.

Insight #2: The definition of being consistent can and will change, no matter what your profession is. 

Back in 2018, I read one new spiritual book every week, sometimes two or even three. Today, there’s more responsibility and other stuff I enjoy doing.

I can’t guilt-trip myself and say I’m not a “true” reader just because I don’t read every day. In the same way, you don’t have to meditate, paint or practice your hobbies every single day to prove your passion for them. And it means nothing about you, even if you begin to teach or train others with your skills, but you yourself don’t have the frequency your students do right now.

I remember my gym trainer, and how he spent hours working with us but spent a fraction of that time on his own training. He was nonetheless, in solid shape. It always made me wonder what it takes to “train” ourselves to reach a certain threshold so that we don’t need to be as intensive and still reap the rewards of our hard work.

But I get it now.

Even though I don’t meditate daily anymore, it’s still as powerful when I do close my eyes and sit still. This is why I teach it from the lens that works for me and for those that don’t view meditation as a daily practice either. Speaking of that, let’s take a hot second to normalize the so-called “inconsistency” of our spiritual practices with this resource.

The fact is that our needs are constantly changing. So, there’s no need for us to latch on to one way of being if it no longer serves us.

In the same way, for yourself, you might decide to pursue your passion as your purpose and notice that the intensity keeps changing. This might happen because you’re required to do other things, or simply because you begin to find yourself bringing in other ways of self-expression.

There’s nothing wrong with that and it just tells us that even though we’re highly creative beings, our creativity isn’t just the art we make or the words we write. We are ever expanding! And it also leads me to the third point.

Insight #3: Our passion doesn’t have to be our purpose, for it to be purposeful.

You see, hobbies are meant to inspire us, not become a burden. They can definitely be one of your higher callings, but sometimes, your hobbies will just stay hobbies and you may find purpose in doing something completely else. 

Sometimes, we just need that inspiration from our passion, to find our actual purpose.

For instance, I first started as a writer, and that was my passion. I actually wrote a note to myself back in college, saying that I would give my corporate job a true try, but if it doesn’t work for me, I will become a writer. Now, I wish I still had that slip with me, but 4 years after making that bold claim, I did actually follow through.

All I wanted to do back then was write. So the first year without a job, I let my heart write to its content! In fact, I kept at it and have written hundreds of articles and posts in the past half-decade. But this too is NOT my only area of interest.

I never thought I’d be a coach, and yet, when my first client showed up, I fell head-over-heels in love with the art of holding space in someone else’s healing.

Once I understood all of this, I realized I don’t have to write a new article every week to be called a true spiritual writer. And with that, I freed the pressure off of myself and let this hobby to write for you be more enjoyable – like it used to be.

Concluding Thoughts

This whole idea of finding our purpose has been heavily romanticized in recent times. If I could conclude all these thoughts in a few simple statements, I would say this.

One, sometimes a passion should stay a passion, otherwise, it becomes a chore.

The second is that your definition of showing up for your purpose with consistency will change. Give yourself that permission, to be adaptable and fluid.

And third, is that your passion might lead you to your purpose. And that is purposeful enough.

Ultimately, we must all strive to remember this fundamental truth – whatever we do or not do is simply a way to learn more about our own nature. Everything and everyone will bring in a learning curve for spiritual development, and there’s no true right or wrong path. Let’s explore that idea a bit deeper – I’ve put together a powerful masterclass on soul amnesia and life purpose, unpacking ancient spiritual frameworks and helping you clarify what your true soul purpose is.

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