A few weeks, perhaps months, even, a friend of mine posted on Facebook for suggestions on a hobby. She was looking for one as she had a lot of time and wanted to stave off boredom. I found it interesting that she was going to others for ideas on hobbies. Hobbies to me are very subjective and personal; only YOU know what you like. The more I thought about it the more I felt the search for a hobby is the same for a search for finding your craft/passion. I thought I would share with you here some of the suggestions I gave my friend:
1. What are you drawn to?
This attests to what kind of a doer you are. Do you like to do things with your hands or do like to work more with your brain? Not saying that doing things with your hands doesn't require brain power; let me elaborate. Are you more drawn to making things with your hands, getting dusty, dirty and engaged with things that are being made? Or are you more drawn to solving problems or sharing thoughts, dealing more with the theoretical?
Another thing to think about is your attention span. Are you likely to keep up a long term project or do you want to be able to get a project done in a day or two? These are some things to think about when you start to consider your craft.
2. What's something that you always thought would be cool to do?
Another good place to start if you haven't found your craft already, is to think about what you always thought would be cool to do. For instance, I knit and crochet and always thought it would be cool to know how to spin my own yarn. So I took a class and invested in some supplies and now it adds a new dimension of pride and fulfillment in my projects. Things that pique our interest can be gateways to finding our passion.
3. Take a class from a business or friend.
If you're still unsure you can always take a class or learn from a friend. Sharing talents is something I believe in greatly and am always open to sharing my knowledge to those who want to learn and find their craft. If you want to know if you'll actually like something find a mentor who will be willing to take the time to show you the ropes and who will continue to encourage you through your learning.
4. You will have to invest a little money at first.
One of the things my friend was afraid of most was spending money on all sorts of things and then not keeping it up and losing interest. This is one reason why I suggest taking a class first to see if you'll like it in the first place, but in most cases you will probably have to spend a little money on whatever your interested in. You don't have to purchase every single Cricut cutter and cartridge out there, there are simpler ways to scrapbook at first. You don't have to purchase a super sonic fast computer to start your pontifications blog, a smart phone or run down laptop is enough to start. There is also always the option to borrow reusable supplies from that mentor I mentioned before.
5. Don't be discouraged or afraid to try many things.
It may very well likely be that the first thing you try out won't be The One. But that is okay. And it may end up not being the only One. I have many crafts. As I mentioned I knit and crochet, but I also garden on top of my photography. And believe it or not, I didn't start out with photography. I tried writing, painting and drawing in order to get out the images I had popping into my brain, but none of those worked. Eventually I stumbled on to photography.
Eventually you will find your craft, your passion. It's out there if you don't already have it. It may take some time, but I know you'll find it.