Struggling to find my passion 😫

The best advice I've come across when figuring out your passion is to ask yourself,

"If I had $100,000,000 in the bank, how would I spend my time?"

Then you need to cut past all the typical answers; you'd buy some shit that you think makes you happy. You'd buy even more. Realize that things don't fulfill you. You'd travel.

You'd travel a fair amount. Eventually, you'd be exhausted of traveling, realizing that doesn't bring fulfillment either.

You'd spend time with loved ones. While you wouldn't tire of this per se, you would realize that human beings are meant to do, not just to be. We're meant to struggle. Struggle means we're growing.

So what struggle do you want to deal with? What problems would you spend your time working on?

Once you have an idea of what problems interest you, start working towards spending as much time as possible doing that. It doesn't necessarily mean a career change; sometimes a boring job that enables you to do what you truly care about is the right way to "live your passion". Sometimes it turns into a career or a job or a company.

But that's besides the point. Figure out what problems interest you, and pursue them until something else is more interesting.

@DanSolo Nice to see you writing about this! Transparent & open! Thx for that and I know you'll find what you're seeking.

You mentioned a couple things which got my attention

"I tried to think" - if you tried, you'll keep on trying! Passion is not something you think about very deeply. It's more something you feel. Inside of you. In your inner peace zone. 100% connected with your true, untouched identity? While thinking, you travel through your life programs which are not really you, are you with me at this point?
Being that said, you need break man :) Silence, time on your own, finding your wild & confident spirit! Have you read "The Way Of The Superior Man"? If no, highly recommended :)

"I still have that burning fire inside me"- keep the fire burning! Change something in your life. The change is a natural circulation. Add developing habits, be more engaged in your family life - anything that you find true and valuable to you and people you love.

"I started to realise that I had been gaming every day" - It can be a passion, but it's also illusion ;) There's much more around than this. You know this deep inside of you, but it sounds like you struggle with finding that. Maybe that's why you end up gaming, hm? You're a father, happy being, living a prosperous life, and HAVING THE FIRE! You're in your youth considering that the numbers don't matter that much as spirit and mindset do.

"I work full time in DevOps" - breathe fresh air somewhere :) Have a break, enjoy the peace and listen to your inner voice.

Summing up

Start step by step.
Do one thing at the time.
Set up your goals.
Embrace the change.
Switch from daily gaming to daily... <3
Give yourself a moment in nature

The rest will come during and after! Let me know if you want to work on that together!

Much love!

Start taking action! You can definitely make working on your passion viable. The medium through which you do this though, only becomes apparent through taking action towards making it a reality.

This is something I am actively trying to pursue with Startup Sanctuary. I am passionate about creators and entrepreneurs and equipping them with the tools and processes to grow and monetize their own business.

I know that by taking action towards doing this, getting feedback and iterating it as I build, I am getting closer and closer to the sweet spot of the product and service I can offer and scale.

Your own personal "product market fit" can't be realized until you begin to refine your exact value proposition. I believe the best way to do this is to begin taking action by creating your own MVP, providing value to others about what you know and continue to iterate from there. Hope this helps.

If you want to find your passion, try to see what you do when you are least motivated.

Remember passion can be anything and it can be turned around for your own benefits.

I have a friend and she used to watch a lot of TV. It was so crazy that she even offered money to take the TV from her room. One day, she started writing dialogues and essays based on the shows she was watching and a TV producer read her writing and invited her for screenwriting. She ended up doing screenwriting for a show.

In hindsight, it seemed all her TV watching helped her understand the dialogues and the patterns of it.

The fact that you are thinking about it, I just know you'll figure it out. I don't know the answer to your question but am glad to be on a similar journey as you are. Look forward to seeing what you come up with!

It could be hard indeed.

Double check you're not burned out. When was the last time you took time off from work?

Also you definitely can apply to a gaming company as Dev ops, I can't talk about many of them but I know first hand that Blizzard Entertainment has a very cool work environment and the you would be surrounded by like minded people.

Often times what you need is to find a hobby to balance out the other things you do. I know it's hard with the current sanitary situation but looking for outdoors activities could be an option.

Finally, you could try to make your own game. I mean you might not get it to a point where you can quit your job right away, but who knows what can you find in the way.

It's ok to feel a bit down. That's how we know we need to do something about it.

GLHF

I find that passion is fluid and dream jobs are still work. Let me unpack that...

I went to college for music, but by the middle of my junior year, music started to become dull. When I started treating it like a job, I lost my passion for music. After I graduated, I stopped playing. It took a few years before I started playing again for fun when I joined a rock band.

Also around that time is when I started making flash games and puzzles. I tried to make a business out of that, and got close but never pulled enough money. But, there were times when I was in my element. I was learning, but hacking away. I would wake up and jump right back to my keyboard to create.

To this day, I find working on my own stuff is what I enjoy most, but doesn't bring in the money... at least instantly or traditionally like regular job. It's something you have to build up. It won't happen overnight.

If I were you, I start taking notes on ideas you have and try to find something actionable. You don't have to think about end goal, because that can shift. Just find something simple to build toward and you will get more ideas to refine.

Good luck!

Totally get the venting! I have no answer for you, it's hard for all of us :)

I wouldn't say I'm passionate about web apps - I can be passionate about ideas (and even those have highs and lows), tech/implementation details, and all sorts of things.

Gaming is a tough area. The people making money off of playing games must have a specific set of personality traits, playing a single game day-in/day-out with the only goal to maximize performance (not fun) to compete. Living in So Cal, I've heard a lot about the game dev industry, and most of the companies don't sound very pleasant to work for!

Indie game development is big, but not necessarily easy (no indie dev is easy ;-)