It’s easier for some than it is for others, as with most things in life. Finding a passion can be so underrated and easy to give up on when the frustration sets in. With a shift in perspective though, it can be a lot easier and enjoyable to pursue something that makes it worth getting out of bed every morning.

Follow your intuition

This takes more practice than it sounds. We’ve been conditioned to ignore our intuition in pursuit of what we are “supposed to do.” Doing the things we are supposed to all the time is the cigarette smoking of the soul – it feels nice at first but it’s really killing you slowly. It might seem like you are blindly following your interests, but chances are it’s not really that blind.

Lean into your hobbies

Building off following your intuition, even if your hobbies lie outside what career you are currently pursuing, you never know which direction you’re truly supposed to take until you explore different routes. I’m not suggesting you throw all of your time and money into a pipe dream, I’m just saying your pipe dream might not be a pipe dream after all. Feel it out, you really never know.

Don't be too proud

Be ready to pay your dues but don’t take any flack from people. It’s a tough balance, one that I’m definitely struggling to find. Just try not to fall prey to the illusion of overnight success and if you have to take a couple of extra less glamorous steps to find out what you want or to reach what you want, do that.

Trust the process

I could give you statistics and ages of people that are successful now who weren’t at our age. It’s inspiring, but it means nothing if you’re struggling uphill. Anyone can appreciate the struggle in hindsight, that’s easy. The real courage is keeping your eye on the prize no matter what you have to go through to get there. As I said before, don’t take any flack, but know that what you’re doing will pay off one day as long as you take pride in your work and keep pushing. Granted, it’s easy to have your eye on a prize that you’ve identified as yours. It works the same with finding your own prize though. Sometimes you have to figure out what you don’t want in order to stumble upon what you do want.

Give it time

As I said before, it won’t happen overnight. I need to remind myself this too.

Once you find it, give it your all

This one should go without saying. It’s like telling someone in love that they should enjoy that person as much as they can. This is what makes it worth all of the bad days and all of the hard work. You’re finally here, in love with a piece of your life, and it’s time to make something beautiful from it.