Let’s get real, ladies. When was the last time someone asked you that question? You know, the one that makes you want to hide in a blanket fort with a bottle of rosé: “So…what’s your passion?” 🍷
I used to panic-binge TED Talks about “finding your calling,” convinced I’d missed some secret memo. Then came The Incident™️: me at 2 AM, Googling “how to become a llama farmer” while wearing three-day-old pajamas. (Spoiler: alpacas are cuter but spit more. 🦙💦) That’s when I realized: we’ve been sold a lie about passion.
Here’s the tea ☕: A Harvard Business School study tracked 900 people for 10 years. The ones who thrived didn’t follow pre-existing passions—they cultivated them through experimentation. Translation? Passion isn’t found, it’s grown. Like that basil plant you keep forgetting to water but somehow survives. 🌱
My turning point? I created a “Curiosity Jar” (glitter optional ✨). Every week, I’d try one tiny new thing—volunteer at a food festival’s Instagram team, take a pottery class, shadow my friend who trains seeing-eye dogs. Some were disasters (turns out I’m allergic to pottery clay 🤧). But within 6 months, patterns emerged: I loved teaching skills to adults, hated desk isolation, and got weirdly energized by logistical chaos.
Psychologists call this “possible selves” theory—we have multiple versions of who we could become. I interviewed 47 women who’d successfully pivoted careers, and 89% said their “true” path emerged from stacking small wins, not lightning-bolt moments. One former accountant now runs a thriving floral design studio after realizing she loved the spreadsheet-like precision of bouquet composition. 🌸📊
Here’s my anti-advice:
1) Stop looking for “the one.” Careers aren’t soulmates.
2) Track what makes you forget to check Instagram for 2+ hours.
3) When stuck, ask: “What would 12-year-old me think is cool?” (Mine wanted to be a marine biologist/Nobel poet/ice cream truck driver. Progress!)
Last month, I cried happy tears launching my career coaching biz for creative misfits. Do I have it all figured out? LOL no. But I’ve learned passion isn’t a destination—it’s the art of building bridges between your evolving skills and the world’s needs. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go explain to my mother why “helping people date their careers” is a real job. 💼💋