My whole life I have heard that we should try to learn new things. That we should continuously develop our minds, and that by trying new things we can learn what we are truly passionate about. This idea is also a great way to discover what type of career we could be most successful, and happy, doing with our lives. I’ve always envied those who have known, from young on, what they wanted to do or be. Sadly, this has never be me. To this day I’m still striving to find out “what I want to be when I grow up”! I keep trying new things for the experience, and pleasure, in the hopes of finding my true passion, whether it be for a career or a fun pastime. 

I’ve enjoyed trying so many things just for fun and knowledge, but I have never had that “aha!” moment that I hoped would happen. I’ve tried a variety of things, such as woodworking, welding, fly fishing, stained glass, acrylic painting, and writing of course! I’ve also tried many athletic things, such as rowing, weight lifting, fencing, Kendo, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and so many others.

One thing that I have learned is that I am an adrenaline junky, and that my goal is to try all things humanly possible. I’ve jumped out of a plane, hot-air ballooned, and I still love white-water rafting, snowboarding, rollercoasters, and travelling the world. I’ve done all of these things while trying as many new foods, and seeing as many new things, as possible. This is definitely a theme I’ll continue to write about in my future posts. 

Please don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved many of the things I have done, even though I no longer do them. I loved fencing, but after a decade, my body hated it. I also knew early on that I wasn’t dedicated enough to training to go farther in the sport. I was still fortunate to be able to train and do bouts with Olympic fencers. Sadly, my heart just wasn’t in it enough to push myself and practice enough as was required. It really comes down to practice. I assume that when you find something you love, practicing becomes enjoyable, rather than a chore. I enjoyed the many things I have done, but I have never found myself craving the practice required for anything I’ve tried. 

I still dabble in painting, mostly gifts for unwilling friends and family. I obviously enjoy writing, but my “grand novel” is still not done after writing it off and on for the past 10 years. I also know I want to weld again, although I have no idea what I want to accomplish with it. It’s one thing that keeps coming back to me to learn.

But … I always wonder, what am I missing, what haven’t I tried? Shouldn’t everyone find their true passions if they are willing to try? I can at least say that I have put in a huge effort with the long list of things that I’ve done, tried, and practiced.

So maybe for me, my passion is simply trying things, saying that I have at least done many things that life has to offer. On a side note, I can say that my shoe collection has a gorgeous custom wood shoe rack that I made myself, and I have a large funky candelabra that I also made in my first metal working course.

So, currently, I am learning how to do Viking Weave (basically wire knitting), watching a fabulous TV series called “The Magicians,” and reading the second book by the fabulously famous Bloggess, Jenny Lawson, called “Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things”.

So, how do you find your passions? Do you continuously strive to find what fulfills you? Or, do you recognize what you have been postponing? What have you always wanted to try, but due to fear, embarrassment, or life’s simple blasé, has been holding you back? Maybe start small, but I highly recommend that each and every one of you live a life without regrets. Live life knowing that you have tried the things that you have always wanted to try! Try to figure out what is holding you back. What have you wanted to try but just haven’t done it? Then ponder, why haven’t you? There may be very practical reasons why you haven’t, but if there isn’t, then set a plan to at least try to accomplish it in the near future.

My final insight for today is to just keep trying things. By reading my blog, I hope you will learn about the many things I continue to try. I may fail, or may just have it as a thing I can check off my “tried” list. But I hope that no matter what, that maybe one of them will give you some inspiration in your own life. Go out and try things, whether you do it once, fail, or succeed, it doesn’t matter, just don’t regret not trying something.