What’s Your Passion?
What’s your passion? These days that seems a too-popular question. If you ask what to write, the answer is Write your passion.
Maybe I’m aN uptight, out-dated, and downright uncreative about that word, but I don’t think of passion in that broader context. My passion involves, um . . . er . . . other activities. When I went looking to write my passion, I found that it didn’t want to be written about.
Passion and Trendspotting
When it comes to spotting trends we need to see patterns, we’ve already established that. Yet, I can’t follow the patterns that people have about every little thing in every minute of every day that goes by. I’m fairly certain my head would explode, if I gave it a half-hearted attempt.
Every trendspotter I know has a narrow, niche focus. How did he or she get there? Here comes that word again passion. Passion is key to trendspotting. I guess I need to expand my definition a bit (blush).
It is true. I’ve often been stopped cold when someone has asked What is your passion? It’s not that I don’t have more than one subject I care about. At times in life, I didn’t know how to decide what was my passion. Everything seemed so interesting to me. If you’re after an answer to that question, here’s how to spot something that’s your passion.
You have a passion, if what you are thinking about is
- a pastime or idea you’ve been interested in from the minute you encountered it.
- a pastime or idea you talk about, read about, and write about even when you don’t have to.
- a pastime or idea other people know that you know a lot about.
- a pastime or idea you would miss sorely if you had to give it up.
- a pastime or idea that energizes you when you get to share it with others.
Trendspotters find trends in their passions. Finding patterns comes more easily in the areas we know really well. Pick your passion, and start finding patterns. Those are the first two steps to finding the next trend on the horizon.
Start with yourself . . . what energizes you every time you talk about it? When does the occasion to talk about your passion occur most often? Do you see any patterns around your passion?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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