6- Loving What I Love: Choosing My Own Passions

Reconnecting with my true interests, creativity, and personal joy.

Rediscovering the Things That Light Me Up

For a long time, I wasn’t even sure what I truly loved. I had spent so many years shaping myself around what I was supposed to enjoy, what looked good on paper, what was socially acceptable, what was practical, impressive, or productive. I had absorbed so many external expectations that I didn’t even realize I had lost touch with my own genuine interests.

Somewhere along the way, I confused achievement with passion. I believed that if I was good at something, or if it led to success, it must be something I loved. But the truth is, being skilled at something doesn’t mean it brings you joy. And chasing goals that don’t feed your spirit will eventually leave you feeling empty, no matter how much praise, recognition, or money you receive.

The Quiet Rebellion of Choosing Joy

When I began to change, when I started asking deeper questions about who I was becoming and what I truly valued, I found myself needing to step back from the noise. I realized I had been moving on autopilot, collecting goals and interests like checkboxes on a list that was never really mine. Reconnecting with joy meant slowing down long enough to hear what my inner voice had been trying to say all along.

And that voice wasn’t asking for a productivity plan. It was asking for play, for creativity, for pleasure. It wanted to explore without a reason. To write not because I had something to prove, but because words felt like home. To create, not for applause, but for expression.

There is something quietly rebellious about choosing what you love, especially when it doesn’t make sense to anyone else. When you follow your passions without needing them to be profitable or impressive, you begin to reclaim a part of yourself that has always been waiting for permission to come alive.

Creating for the Sake of Creating

We live in a world that constantly tells us everything we do should have a purpose, a result, a reward—something tangible to show for our time. And because of that, we often stop ourselves from pursuing hobbies, creative projects, or personal interests unless we can justify them as productive. “Justify” not only to others, but even to ourselves. As if we need an excuse to do what we love, simply because it doesn’t have an obvious outcome.

But some of the most beautiful things we will ever do are the things that serve no one’s timeline but our own. Writing a story that no one else reads. Painting a canvas that never gets hung. Dancing in your kitchen just because the music moves you.

These moments matter more than we think. They nourish our minds with lightness and joy. They remind us that life is not just a task to complete—it’s something to feel, to savor, to live fully.

Doing something just because you love it is enough. That joy is reason enough. The reward is how it makes you feel in the present moment. Connected and real.

Following What Feels Alive

The more I paid attention to what genuinely made me feel alive, the easier it became to distinguish between what was truly mine and what I had been doing out of habit or expectation. I began to notice how my body responded when I was doing something I loved—how I felt lighter, more present, more connected to myself. I wasn’t chasing a result; I was simply existing inside a moment that felt aligned.

And that’s the difference: alignment. When you do things you truly love, you feel it in your body. There’s a quiet sense of rightness, even if no one else understands it. Passion doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it’s just a whisper that says: this is you.

You may not know exactly where it will lead. But you’ll know you’re no longer walking in circles. You’re finally walking toward something that feels like yours.

Final Thoughts: Passion as a Path Back to Self

If you’ve lost touch with what you love, don’t worry. It’s not gone, it’s just buried beneath everything you’ve been told to value. Start small. Notice what excites you. Follow your curiosity without expecting it to be “useful.” Give yourself permission to create without purpose. Give yourself permission to enjoy without guilt.

Because reconnecting with your passions isn’t just about finding things to do, it’s about finding your way back to yourself. The version of you that is unfiltered, alive, and deeply in tune with what truly matters.

And when you find it, when you land on that thing that makes you come alive, you’ll want to make time for it. You’ll get up earlier, stay up later, not because you have to, but because you want to. You’ll probably work harder than ever, but it won’t feel like work, because it brings you energy, not exhaustion. And slowly, you’ll begin to reshape your life around it, carving out space to do what you love, even if it’s just for the simple joy of doing it.

You’ll feel more motivated, more inspired, more connected. You’ll smile when you talk about it. People will notice the light in your eyes. You’ll inspire others, not by trying to, but simply by being someone who has chosen to love themselves first, without apology, and without giving up on the precious time we’re given.