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Many individuals struggle with finding a sense of purpose in life. They work a job they don't love, live in a city they don't enjoy, stay in a relationship without love. Why do they do this? Why do they tread water without going forward?

As a child, the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" is often asked. Most children have an answer. They want to be doctors or astronauts or firemen or actors or whatever their young minds can think of. The entire world is theirs for the taking. Anything is possible at this point. What happens along the way to stop them from fulfilling their childhood dream?

The first deterrent is other people. Parents, peers or anyone that makes a negative comment about the child's dream can have a devastating effect on their attitude. It is difficult enough to follow a dream without a psychological hindrance in the form of nay saying. It is necessary to grow a thick skin early in life to avoid giving up before even beginning. Nothing should stand in the way of doing what you love in life.

What about individuals that don't know what they want to do? Some individuals feel lost and do not know what they want out of life. They are content to work at a regular job, get paid, retire and then die. Life passes them by without so much as a thought. Do not be like this. Live the life you have always imagined by finding your passion.

Finding out what makes one passionate is not always so easy. Most often, whatever the object of desire is, it seems out of reach or impossible. A child dreaming of becoming an astronaut or the President soon finds this dream is a difficult endeavor to accomplish. But what comes first? Is it societal pressure or peer pressure that discourages the dreamer? Or is it themselves that are to blame for giving up hope before they even begin?

Society often states what is possible and what is not. When Christopher Columbus had a dream of discovering a new world, he was jeered at and sneered at. People said it was impossible to sail around the world. His peers told him not to try or he would die in the attempt. What course would the world have taken had he listened to the doubters?

When face with adversity, one can either storm forward unafraid or quit. Most individuals quit. They figure they should not have tried in the first place and this failure is a manifestation of that glaring reality. Failure is only an opportunity to start again in a different direction. Do not let fear of failure stop you from trying and ultimately succeeding.

So what is passion? What makes individuals who live for their passion different from others that do not? Passion is very simply what makes you happy. If growing a garden makes you happy and a large amount of time or energy is spent tilling a garden, this is a source of passion. The same can be said of music, both playing or listening. Knowing what is a source of passion in one's life is an easy matter of being honest with yourself.

Ask yourself what makes you happy. This is your passion. It does not matter what it is. It can be as simple as walking or looking at birds. You can be a bird watcher. Whatever it is, nothing is too far fetched to do as a way of life.

Someone who lives his or her passion is not afraid of taking risks. He or she doesn't care about the attitudes of others. Nothing is impossible. If he or she is passionate about cinema, he or she make cinema his or her life, regardless of practical considerations. He or she will live in the street, homeless and destitute, to follow his or her dreams. He or she has no choice. His or her passion is life. His or her passion is something he or she feels compelled to do. It is not something he or she wants to do, rather something he or she must do.

How can somebody stuck in his or her regular world with a regular life throw off the shackles and go forward in the direction of his or her dreams? The first is a change of attitude. He or she must believe anything is possible with hard work, passion and a lot of perseverance. Once this belief is established, most of the initial fear is eliminated. Most individuals are embarrassed to admit what they want out of life because they feel they cannot accomplish it or they believe they are not worthy of such a life.

Do not let fear or other individuals and their negativity stop you from living the life you have imagined. Be fearless and strong in the pursuit of your passion. Let nothing stand in your way.

Kevin is the publisher and editor of my-personal-growth.com, a site that provides information and articles for self improvement and personal growth and development.