Pursue Your Passion No Matter How Old You Are

I chatted with a friend on the phone for nearly an hour and a half a few weeks ago. We spoke about how to pursue your passion, doing something you want to do, regardless of age.

I told her I’m pursuing my freelance gigs on the side of my full time job. I’ve always felt excited to learn and help people.

My friend told me she’d like to do something different in her career, but so many people tell her she’s so young, and she’s still got many years to go.

I disagree.

 

 

It’s not too late to pursue your passion.

If we’re unhappy with our job or in any aspect of our lives, it’s not about being too young or too old. Colonel Sanders first franchised his Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe when he was 63, and look at what he built! It’s not too late or too early – as long as we dedicate ourselves to researching what we want.

I listened to the audiobook version of Amy Poehler’s autobiography, “Yes Please.” She mentioned something that clicked immediately: we shouldn’t ask ourselves what we want to do, we should ask ourselves what we don’t want to do. I bet you could think of at least 5 things you don’t want to be or do, right now.

 

 

Let’s ask ourselves what we don’t want to be.

For me, I don’t want to be…

a film director.
a psychiatrist.
old and alone.
And many, many more.

 

 

“You do it because the doing of it is ‘the thing.’ The doing is the thing. The talking and worrying and thinking is not the thing.” ~ Amy Poehler, “Yes Please.”

Think about what you don’t want to do so you can narrow down what you want to do. Then you can focus on mastering that new thing or that new career, and go from there. That new career might not be perfect. Doing the research and making a decision gets us one step closer to feeling happier, pursuing something more fulfilling.

How will you pursue your passion?