This is an excerpt from a wonderful book I read 4 years ago called book “How to Live a Good Life” by Johnathan Fields about a life quest the perplexes most people which is defining their passion and purpose. I learned from Jonathan and the author Elizabeth Gilbert and many others that we can only follow our curiosity as a guide to find things we enjoy doing with passion, so here it goes:
“Time for you to spark yourself! What are the things that you want to invest time, energy, money, and effort to do, learn, or participate in more? Answer as many of the following questions as you can. Truth is, it’s often easier to have fewer sparks, because then you spend less time trying to decide which to devote time and effort to. You can still contribute to the world in a way that lights you up.
If you find yourself struggling to answer for present-day you, answer for 12-year-old you. Sometimes by the time we reach adulthood, our true sparks are buried so deep we have forgotten how to see them. Reconnecting with your inner 12-year-old, without regard to whether adult society holds your answers valid, can be a great place to start.
- Am I curious about anything in particular?
- Is there a big question I’d love to answer?
- Is there a problem I feel compelled to solve?
- Are there things that fascinate me? Is there a topic or field or thing or pursuit or even a person that I have a deep yearning to know more about?
- Are there activities that I get lost in?
- Are there things I love to do where I lose track of time and would pay to be able to do more?
- Is there something I want to master? Is there an art or field or pursuit I’d love to be really good at, maybe even world-class great?
- Is there some person or community or being I feel compelled to help? It doesn’t have to be human; it could be an animal, a plant, or even a planet.
Look at your answers, then ask how you might be able to weave more of the things that spark you into your days.”
Note: Spark Yourself is the title of the chapter I took this excerpt from. I totally forgot how amazing this book was until Readwise app reminded me of it.
I love the word Spark which is why I named my weekly newsletter “The Sunday Spark”, subscribe to it and check the archive here.