Stop waiting to “find your passion”
Readtime: 4 minutes
Before we start - the new ‘sprint’ version of Atomic Ambition starts next week. It’s quicker, easier, and more affordable – and will get you to make the big decision about your career that you’ve been putting off. Imagine going into next year excited again about your career. Be sure to check out the P.S. at the end of today’s newsletter.
A few years ago, I sat across from a friend at lunch who looked completely defeated.
He had a good job, at a well-known company, with great pay.
But he said something I’ll never forget:
“I just wish I could find my passion.”
He said it like he’d lost his car keys.
As if passion was somewhere “out there”, hiding under a couch cushion, waiting for him to discover it.
That sentence – I wish I could find my passion – has quietly trapped more talented professionals than any bad performance review ever could.
The passion myth
Somewhere along the way, we were told that the key to career fulfillment was to “follow your passion”.
But here’s the problem: passion rarely leads, it follows.
You don’t wake up one morning with lightning in your chest, finally knowing what you’re meant to do.
You start doing something – awkwardly, inconsistently, imperfectly – and over time, you notice yourself caring more than you expected.
That’s how real passion begins.
Not from inspiration, but from repetition.
The cost of waiting
The “find your passion” mindset sounds noble, but it’s often just a prettier version of procrastination.
It lets you stay in motion without moving forward.
You can read books, listen to podcasts, and tell yourself you’re searching – while avoiding the risk of actually trying anything.
The reason this approach doesn’t work is because you can’t think your way into passion. You can only act your way into it.
Most people don’t lack passion They lack evidence – proof that something they care about can actually matter in the world.
And you don’t get that proof sitting still.
What passion really looks like
Passion rarely looks like fireworks.
It looks like curiosity turning into excitement and competence.
It’s the marketing manager who starts helping friends with job interviews and realises he loves coaching.
It’s the engineer who volunteers to lead a side project and discovers she actually likes managing people.
It’s the analyst who starts a small community newsletter after work and learns she enjoys writing more than reporting.
None of them “found” passion.
They built it – by paying attention to what felt energising instead of draining.
How to stop waiting and start building
Here’s a simple framework I use when people tell me they’re “waiting to find their passion”.
Step 1: Follow your curiosity, not your calling.
You don’t need a five-year plan. You just need one honest experiment.
What’s one topic, skill, or activity that keeps grabbing your attention lately? Start there.
Step 2: Give it 20 hours.
Not 10,000. Just 20.
If it’s writing, spend 20 hours writing. If it’s design, spend 20 hours learning design.
Passion isn’t found in the first hour – it’s revealed in the twentieth.
Step 3: Notice how you feel after, not before.
Before we start something new, fear screams the loudest. But after we finish, the truth shows up.
If you feel more alive after doing the work, you’re onto something.
The bottom line
Passion isn’t something you find.
It’s something you earn through effort and curiosity.
Waiting to “find your passion” is how smart people disguise their fear of being seen to try something.
But you don’t need to be good at something to find your passion. Passion is the fuel that propels you in doing something meaningful to you, even before you’re good at it.
Most of the people you admire didn’t just “find” their passion.
They built it, one step at a time.
So stop waiting for a sign.
Start following your curiosity and let passion catch up.
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