Finding your life passion can mean the difference between happiness and frustration.

Do you know what you are passionate about? Is there anything in your life that makes you feel really, really good? Excited, alive, and switched on?

If not, you either haven’t found your life passion yet, or you are neglecting it.

Our passions are what give life its juice. To find your passion, and pursue it is one of the best ways you can use your time.

Even if we do know what we really love, many of us feel that it is selfish to spend time and energy on doing things ‘just for fun.’ We think we should be serious and responsible, and spend our time working hard at fulfilling obligations. We feel noble and virtuous when we attend to endless chores and slave away at jobs we hate. We feel guilty about spending time on things that make us feel alive and happy. What a messed up way of looking at things!

Doing what makes you happy is not frivolous or selfish- it’s smart. Being happy makes you healthier, more productive, and nicer to be around. And who are you really helping by working yourself into the ground doing things that don’t fulfill you? Does anyone truly benefit from the fact that you have an alphabetized spice rack, work fifty hours a week, and say ‘yes’ to so many requests that you have no energy to give to any of them? Do these things make you happy?

If not, it’s time to stop and think about how you are spending the precious minutes and hours of your life.

When is the last time you spent a few hours doing something that made you feel really alive? That made the time fly past, and left you feeling energized rather than drained?

It may have been a long time, but if you really give it some thought, you will probably come up with something.

If you really can’t seem to find your passion, there are a couple of ways you can figure it out.

One way is to experiment. Try some new activities. The only way you will find out what you love doing is by doing it. Who knows, you may uncover a passion for ballroom dancing, writing poetry, or bird watching.

Another approach is to find the essence of what you enjoy. Do you get pleasure from creating beautiful things? Perhaps you are currently expressing that passion only in small ways. Maybe you find enjoyment in creating a beautiful fruit platter for a family meal, rather than just tossing fruit in a bowl. That is a start!

Next you need to find more small ways to explore your passion and include it in your life. How about making cards for birthdays and other occasions? Think about joining an art class, or decorating your personal space. I bet that a beautiful collage above your desk would bring you more joy than perfectly tidy desk drawers. Unless of course, organizing is your life passion.

As you find your passion and more time and ways to fulfill it, you become happier. This makes other people happier too. Who would you rather see every day at breakfast, someone bored and frustrated, or someone filled with enthusiasm?

Spending time following your passion can also open many doors to fulfilling your life purpose. Your life purpose is the special work that you are meant to do. The specific job that nobody but you can do. A life purpose always involves creating or proving something of value to the world around us, and your passion is the best guide to what you should be doing.

Whether your passion is for protecting the environment, baking cookies, singing, teaching, or predicting the stock markets, pursuing it will definitely give you opportunities to benefit others by sharing your creations or knowledge. It may also open up possibilities for following your life passion as a job.

This is the ideal lifestyle, and one that I am actively pursuing. To spend the majority of my time doing what I love, helping others by doing it, and making a living at the same time.

My passion is for communicating. What I love best is sharing information, experiences, and encouragement. Training, teaching, writing, and speaking allow me to do this. When I am doing what I love, it doesn’t feel like work.

So, find your life passion, and go for it with your whole heart. Time spent doing what you love will never be time wasted.

A native of Australia, Amanda Harvey is currently based in Taiwan. Working as a teacher, trainer, speaker, and writer, she has spent the last decade living in various countries throughout Europe and Asia. Through her work and life experiences, Amanda has developed a strong passion for encouraging others to embrace their differences and become empowered to choose their own paths. In all her work, the key message that Amanda endeavors to share is that there is always a choice, and that the only right way to choose life is your way. Amanda is the author of two books.One is a self-help book entitled Freedom from Shame,Overcoming the Stigma of Depression. Amanda's other title is Not My Flesh and Blood, But My Heart and Soul. To read more, please visit www.choosing-life-my-way.com/index.html