People will tell you to find your purpose or your passion. But we are multifaceted beings with many gifts, talents, interests, and ideas. Yet we are put under pressure to have this one purpose or one passion.
We will grow and shift so much in our lifetime that we can expect our desires and purpose to evolve too.

We don't have only one purpose or passion

Instead of concentrating your energy on one purpose or passion, try to focus your energy on bringing your passion and purpose to everything you do. Ask yourself:
<ul>
<li>What type of kindness, care, joy, and patience must you use to bring purpose and passion to your relationships?</li>
<li>What level of openness and curiosity should you have to bring meaning to tasks?</li>
</ul>

Bring your drive to everything you do

Everyone has had jobs they didn't like on the way to finding the job they do like.
Regardless of the job you do now, remain curious. Continuously try to see what this work experience can teach you.

Learn from every situation

Our greatest sense of purpose or passion does not have to come from our 9-to-5 job. It can, but does not have to. 
Sometimes a job is just how we pay our bills, and that is fine. Focus on who you are after your workday is over.

Your 9-to-5 job and your identity

<img width="720" height="432" src="https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?w=750" alt="" srcset="https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg 2000w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=150, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/90 150w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=300, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/180 300w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=768, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/461 768w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=1024, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/614 1024w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=1536, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/922 1536w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=167, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/100 167w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=1000, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/600 1000w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=750, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/450 750w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=190, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/114 190w, https://ideas.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/FINAL_TED-8-Not-having-a-single-passion.jpg?resize=345, https://ideas.ted.com/dont-have-a-single-purpose-or-passion-thats-ok/207 345w"><div class="caption" dir="ltr"> Avalon Nuovo</div>This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from people in the TED community;&nbsp;browse through&nbsp;<a href="https://ideas.ted.com/tag/how-to-be-a-better-human/" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">all the posts here</a>.People will tell you to find your purpose. They will tell you to find your passion. And I am honestly not sure about that. We are all such multilayered beings with an abundance of gifts, talents, interests, and ideas.Why are we putting the pressure on ourselves to have one purpose or one passion?We all grow and shift so much in our lifetime. Who’s to say that your purpose in your twenties isn’t going to evolve into something else in your thirties, forties, fifties, and beyond?I have never really felt like I had just one purpose. And attempting to live life like I did always felt stressful and inauthentic. Instead of concentrating my energy on one purpose or passion, I try to focus my energy on what it looks like to bring passion and purpose to everything I do.I do this by asking myself:What type of kindness, care, joy, and patience must I harness in order to bring purpose and passion to my relationship with myself and those around me?What level of openness and curiosity must I own in order to bring meaning to jobs and tasks in my life (even, or especially, the roles that don’t spark an immediate sense of excitement within me)?I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had jobs that they didn’t like on the way to finding the job they do like. I am definitely one of those people. I have babysat, sold t-shirts with photos of crawfish and hot sauce on them to tourists in my hometown, worked in fashion and as an office manager. None of these jobs were meant for me, but as I went to work answering the phone or pinning a dress, I still tried my hardest to remain curious.Even on the days where all I wanted to do was pretend to be sick and have a Gilmore Girls marathon with my roommate, Molly, I would conjure whatever inner strength I could, show up, and try to continuously look for what that work experience had to teach me.In fact, I have found that during the moments of doing the things that I liked the least it became the most important to say to myself, “OK, it’s easy to not like this, but what can I learn from it?”I have also found that our 9-to-5 jobs do not have to be how we identify ourselves. They can be, but are not always, the place we feel our greatest sense of purpose or passion. Sometimes a job is just how we pay our bills, which is absolutely fine. And there’s nothing wrong with that.Some of the best advice my friend Grace’s dad ever gave us when we were struggling with some of our early jobs was, “Don’t stress about what you have to do during nine to five. Focus on who you are from five to nine.”If you are someone who feels like you know your one true passion or purpose, that is also a wonderful way to go through life, and I am rooting for you every step of your journey.If you are not so sure, I just want you to know that it is okay. Let go of trying to identify yourself by one idea or goal.Instead, commit yourself to bringing purpose and passion into each conversation, workspace and home space you are a part of.Excerpted from the book <a href="https://geni.us/8zavAcy" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">Where to Begin: A Small Book About Your Power to Create Big Change </a>by Cleo Wade. Reprinted with permission of Atria Books, an imprint of Simon &amp; Schuster, Inc. Copyright © 2019 by Cleo Wade.Watch her TED Talk here:&nbsp;<h3>About the author</h3><a href="https://ideas.ted.com/author/cleo-wade/" dir="ltr">Cleo Wade</a> is a poet, community builder, and the author of the bestselling book Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life, as well as Where to Begin. She has been named one of America’s 50 Most Influential Women by Marie Claire, 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company, and “The Millennial Oprah” by New York magazine. Wade sits on the boards of the Lower Eastside Girls Club, the National Black Theatre in Harlem and the Women’s Prison Association.

We are all such multilayered beings with an abundance of gifts, talents, interests, and ideas. Poet and author Cleo Wade asks: So why are we putting the pressure on ourselves to have one purpose or one passion?

career

Career

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

problemsolving

Problem Solving

business

Business

This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from people in the TED community;  browse through <a dir="ltr" href="https://ideas.ted.com/tag/how-to-be-a-better-human/" rel="noopener noreferrer">all the posts here </a>.

People will tell you to find your purpose. They will tell you to find your passion. And I am honestly not sure about that. We are all such multilayered beings with an abundance of gifts, talents, interests, and ideas.

Why are we putting the pressure on ourselves to have one purpose or one passion?

We all grow and shift so much in our lifetime. Who’s to say that your purpose in your twenties isn’t going to evolve into something else in your thirties, forties, fifties, and beyond?

I have never really felt like I had just one purpose. And attempting to live life like I did always felt stressful and inauthentic. Instead of concentrating my energy on one purpose or passion, I try to focus my energy on what it looks like to bring passion and purpose to everything I do.

What type of kindness, care, joy, and patience must I harness in order to bring purpose and passion to my relationship with myself and those around me?

What level of openness and curiosity must I own in order to bring meaning to jobs and tasks in my life (even, or especially, the roles that don’t spark an immediate sense of excitement within me)?

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had jobs that they didn’t like on the way to finding the job they do like. I am definitely one of those people. I have babysat, sold t-shirts with photos of crawfish and hot sauce on them to tourists in my hometown, worked in fashion and as an office manager. None of these jobs were meant for me, but as I went to work answering the phone or pinning a dress, I still tried my hardest to remain curious.

Even on the days where all I wanted to do was pretend to be sick and have a Gilmore Girls marathon with my roommate, Molly, I would conjure whatever inner strength I could, show up, and try to continuously look for what that work experience had to teach me.

In fact, I have found that during the moments of doing the things that I liked the least it became the most important to say to myself, “OK, it’s easy to not like this, but what can I learn from it?”

I have also found that our 9-to-5 jobs do not have to be how we identify ourselves. They can be, but are not always, the place we feel our greatest sense of purpose or passion. Sometimes a job is just how we pay our bills, which is absolutely fine. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Some of the best advice my friend Grace’s dad ever gave us when we were struggling with some of our early jobs was, “Don’t stress about what you have to do during nine to five. Focus on who you are from five to nine.”

If you are someone who feels like you know your one true passion or purpose, that is also a wonderful way to go through life, and I am rooting for you every step of your journey.

If you are not so sure, I just want you to know that it is okay. Let go of trying to identify yourself by one idea or goal.

Instead, commit yourself to bringing purpose and passion into each conversation, workspace and home space you are a part of.

Excerpted from the book <a dir="ltr" href="https://geni.us/8zavAcy" rel="noopener">Where to Begin: A Small Book About Your Power to Create Big Change </a>by Cleo Wade. Reprinted with permission of Atria Books, an imprint of Simon &amp; Schuster, Inc. Copyright © 2019 by Cleo Wade.

Watch her TED Talk here:

<a dir="ltr" href="https://ideas.ted.com/author/cleo-wade/">Cleo Wade </a> is a poet, community builder, and the author of the bestselling book Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life, as well as Where to Begin. She has been named one of America’s 50 Most Influential Women by Marie Claire, 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company, and “The Millennial Oprah” by New York magazine. Wade sits on the boards of the Lower Eastside Girls Club, the National Black Theatre in Harlem and the Women’s Prison Association.

Don’t have a single purpose or passion? That’s OK

We don't have only one purpose or passion

Bring your drive to everything you do

Learn from every situation

Your 9-to-5 job and your identity

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