What Can People Be Passionate About

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WordPress Post Title: What Can People Be Passionate About?

People can be passionate about creative pursuits (art, music, writing), helping others (volunteering, mentoring, advocacy), learning (languages, history, science), physical activities (sports, hiking, yoga), building things (woodworking, coding, gardening), and connecting with others (community, relationships, hospitality). Research shows passion typically develops through engagement rather than being discovered fully-formed—psychologist Robert Vallerand identifies “harmonious passion” (freely chosen, positive) and “obsessive passion” (compulsive, draining) as the two main types.

Key Takeaways:

• Passion categories span six domains: Creative expression, helping others, learning and growth, physical pursuits, building tangible things, and connecting with people
• Research shows passion develops: Studies by O’Keefe, Dweck, and Walton (2018) found people who believe interests are cultivated (not just discovered) persist through challenges and explore more broadly
• Harmonious vs obsessive matters: Psychologist Robert Vallerand distinguishes healthy passion (freely chosen, energizing) from unhealthy passion (compulsive, rigid, draining)
• Multiple passions are normal: You don’t need one singular “true passion”— many people have diverse interests that shift over time

Why Finding Passion Feels So Hard

If you’ve ever drawn a blank when someone asked “what are you passionate about?”, you’re not alone. The question assumes passion is something you already have, waiting to be identified— but research suggests that’s backwards.

I hear this all the time. Job interviews, first dates, networking events— someone asks the question and you freeze. You scan your life for something that sounds impressive, something that proves you’re a person with depth and direction. And sometimes? You come up empty.

Here’s what frustrates me about the conventional wisdom: it positions passion as this pre-existing thing you need to discover, like buried treasure. Find your passion. Follow your passion. Live your passion. But research by O’Keefe, Dweck, and Walton found that people who believe passions need to be discovered were more likely to lose interest after encountering difficulty, compared to those who believe passions need to be cultivated.

The “find your passion” narrative sets you up to feel defective when you don’t have a ready answer.

So before we get into the psychology of how passion actually works, let’s start with the practical question: what do people even get passionate about?

The Six Major Categories of Passion

Passions fall into six broad categories: creative expression, helping others, learning, physical activity, building, and connecting. Most people’s passions span multiple categories— you might love woodworking (building + creative) or teaching (helping + learning).

From coding to composing, hiking to helping, the landscape of human passion is vast— but it clusters around six core human drives.

Creative Pursuits

These passions involve making something that didn’t exist before. Art, beauty, expression.

• Music (playing instruments, composing, singing)
• Visual art (painting, photography, graphic design)
• Writing (fiction, poetry, blogging, journaling)
• Performing arts (theater, dance, improv)
• Crafts (knitting, pottery, woodworking)
• Cooking and baking
• Fashion and personal style
• Film and video production

Helping Others

Passions focused on service, support, and making life better for other people.

• Volunteering for causes you care about
• Mentoring or coaching others
• Advocacy and activism
• Caregiving (children, elderly, people with disabilities)
• Teaching and tutoring
• Community organizing
• Social justice work
• Counseling and emotional support

Learning and Growth

The pursuit of knowledge, understanding, and personal development.

• Learning new languages
• History and historical research
• Science and research (astronomy, biology, psychology)
• Philosophy and theology
• Reading across genres
• Documentaries and educational content
• Personal development and self-improvement
• Collecting knowledge about niche topics

Physical Activities

Passions that engage your body and physical capabilities.

• Team sports (soccer, basketball, volleyball)
• Individual sports (running, swimming, cycling)
• Outdoor adventure (hiking, rock climbing, kayaking)
• Yoga and pilates
• Martial arts
• Dance (ballet, hip-hop, ballroom)
• Fitness and strength training
• Extreme sports (skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding)

Building Things

Creating tangible objects or systems— the maker’s passion.

• Woodworking and carpentry
• Coding and software development
• Gardening and landscaping
• DIY home improvement
• Engineering and robotics
• Car restoration and mechanics
• Crafting (jewelry, leather goods, textiles)
• Model building and miniatures

Connecting with People

Passions centered on relationships and community.

• Hosting gatherings and creating hospitality
• Deep one-on-one conversations
• Building community spaces
• Strengthening family relationships
• Networking and professional connections
• Collaborative creative projects
• Team-based activities
• Storytelling and sharing experiences

You might be passionate about competitive Scrabble or astrophysics or teaching kids to read. All legitimate. The category matters less than the engagement— which brings us to a deeper question.

But listing what people can be passionate about doesn’t answer a deeper question: what makes something a passion (versus just an interest)? That’s where psychology comes in.

The Psychology of Passion: Harmonious vs Obsessive

Psychologist Robert Vallerand defines passion as “a strong inclination toward a self-defining activity that people like, find important, and invest time and energy in regularly.” But not all passion is healthy— Vallerand distinguishes harmonious passion (freely chosen, flexible, positive) from obsessive passion (compulsive, rigid, draining).

Harmonious passion occurs when an activity is freely chosen and integrated into your identity without contingencies— you do it because you genuinely love it, not because your self-worth depends on it.

Think of the musician who practices for hours and emerges energized, curious about what they discovered. That’s harmonious passion. It flows naturally. You can step away when needed. It enhances other areas of your life rather than creating conflict.

Obsessive passion feels different. It’s the musician who practices for hours and emerges exhausted, guilty, anxious about whether they’re “good enough.” The activity controls you rather than you controlling it. You can’t stop even when it’s hurting you. Your self-worth has become contingent on performance.

Here’s the distinction:

Most of us have experienced both types at different times. The same activity can shift from harmonious to obsessive depending on how it’s integrated into your identity. When you tie your entire self-worth to performance— when you “must” do it to feel valuable— it becomes obsessive.

Obsessive passion isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a warning sign.

Understanding the difference between healthy and unhealthy passion is important. But it still doesn’t answer the original question: how do you develop passion in the first place?

How Passion Actually Develops (Spoiler: Not How You Think)

Research by O’Keefe, Dweck, and Walton (2018) found that people who believe passions are developed (not discovered) are more likely to persist through challenges, explore outside their existing interests, and maintain enthusiasm over time. Cal Newport goes further, arguing that passion is often the result of mastering skills— not the precursor to mastery.

This is the opposite of what most graduation speeches tell you.

The study showed that participants led to believe passions need to be discovered were more likely to lose interest after reading a technical article, compared to those who believed passions are cultivated. When you think passion is supposed to appear fully-formed, you bail at the first sign of difficulty. “This must not be my passion,” you think, and move on.

But Newport’s “craftsman mindset” suggests something different: passion often follows skill development. You get curious about something. You engage with it. You practice. You get competent. And competence is deeply satisfying— which fuels more engagement, which builds more skill, which deepens the passion.

It’s a virtuous cycle, not a lightning strike.

Here’s how it typically develops:

1. Curiosity – Something catches your attention (a book, a conversation, a random class)
2. Engagement – You try it without pressure or expectation
3. Competence – You practice enough to get decent at it
4. Passion – The combination of skill, autonomy, and meaning creates genuine enthusiasm

Think about someone who started learning guitar “just to see.” Practiced a bit. Got decent enough to play a few songs. And now can’t imagine not playing. That’s the development model— not “I always knew I was meant to be a guitarist.”

The “passion hypothesis” is not just wrong, but also dangerous, potentially laying the foundation for a career riddled with confusion and angst. (That’s Newport talking, and I think he’s right.)

You don’t have to wait for lightning to strike. You can build a fire.

But what if you’ve tried this— you’ve explored, you’ve engaged— and you still feel like you don’t have any passions? You’re not alone, and you’re not broken.

What If You Don’t Have Any Passions?

If you feel like you don’t have any passions, it doesn’t mean you’re defective— it might mean you’re looking for the wrong thing. Many people expect passion to feel like lightning, an instant certainty. But for most people, passion is quieter— it’s the thing you come back to, the topic you keep reading about, the activity that makes time disappear.

Passion doesn’t always announce itself with fireworks. Sometimes it whispers.

I see this constantly. People convinced they have no passions who then casually mention they’ve read twelve books about urban planning this year. Or that they lose track of time when they’re baking bread. Or that they can talk for hours about true crime podcasts. They’ve discounted these things because they don’t seem “impressive enough” or “career-worthy.”

Here are some reasons you might feel passionless:

You’re comparing yourself to others’ highlight reels. Social media shows you people with polished, Instagram-ready passions. Rock climbing in exotic locations. Beautifully plated meals. Perfectly curated creative projects. Real passion is messier. It’s the thing you do even when it’s not photogenic.

You expect passion to feel like obsession. If you think passion means thinking about something 24/7, you’ve set an impossible standard. Healthy passion leaves room for other parts of life.

Life circumstances are in survival mode. When you’re struggling to pay rent or dealing with serious health issues or caring for others in crisis, passion development gets shelved. That’s not a character flaw. That’s being human.

You have multiple interests rather than one Big Thing. Some people are what Emilie Wapnick calls “multipotentialites”— people with many interests and creative pursuits rather than one singular calling. This is normal. Not everyone is wired for single-focus passion.

Signs your “interest” might be a developing passion:

• You lose track of time when doing it
• You keep coming back to it voluntarily
• You want to learn more and get better
• You’re willing to practice even when it’s hard
• It energizes you rather than drains you

You might think you don’t have passions, then realize you’ve been passionate about something all along— you just didn’t give it permission to count.

Part of the confusion might be semantic— we use “passion” to mean a lot of different things. So let’s clarify: what’s the difference between a passion, a hobby, and a calling?

Passion vs Hobby vs Calling: What’s the Difference?

A hobby is something you do for enjoyment in your spare time. A passion is something you find meaningful and invest significant time and energy in, even when it’s hard. A calling is a passion with a sense of social purpose— work you believe contributes meaningfully to the world.

According to Yale researcher Amy Wrzesniewski, people who view their work as a “calling” (with social purpose) report higher life satisfaction than those who view it as just a job or career path.

Here’s how they differ:

You might garden as a hobby, paint with passion, and teach as a calling. These aren’t rigid categories— they’re a spectrum. A hobby can become a passion. A passion can become a calling. And sometimes a calling becomes a hobby again when circumstances change.

Not everything has to be a calling. Hobbies are valuable too. The point isn’t to turn every interest into your life’s work— it’s to give yourself permission to engage with what matters to you.

Whether you’re exploring hobbies, developing passions, or pursuing a calling, the important thing is to start where you are.

Finding What Lights You Up

Passion isn’t something you find fully-formed— it’s something you develop through engagement, exploration, and time. The categories are broad (creative, service, learning, physical, building, connecting), but your specific path is yours alone.

You don’t need permission to have multiple passions. You don’t need permission to have passions that shift over time. You don’t need to defend your choice to have no singular Big Passion. All of these are normal.

Follow curiosity. Engage with what interests you. Give yourself permission to be bad at something new. Practice without the pressure to monetize or justify or explain. Let competence build naturally. Notice what energizes you versus what drains you. Pay attention to what you keep coming back to.

And here’s what I know: passion and purpose are connected but not identical. Passion is the fuel. Purpose is the direction. Calling is when they come together in service of something larger than yourself.

If you’re struggling with when you don’t feel passionate about anything, start smaller. Pick one thing that sounds even mildly interesting. Try it. See what happens. No pressure to make it your life’s work. Just curiosity.

The journey matters more than having the “right” passion. You don’t need a map. You need to take the next step.

I believe in you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are examples of passions? Common passions include music, art, writing, volunteering, learning languages, fitness, gardening, cooking, travel, and community building. They fall into six broad categories: creative expression, helping others, learning, physical activity, building things, and connecting with people.

How do you know if something is your passion? Signs include losing track of time while doing it, feeling energized afterward, willingness to practice even when it’s hard, and naturally wanting to learn more. Psychologist Robert Vallerand notes that passion involves regular time investment and becomes self-defining— part of your identity.

What if I don’t have any passions? Feeling passionless is common and doesn’t mean you’re broken. Research suggests passions develop through engagement rather than sudden discovery, so try starting with curiosity— explore different activities without pressure to find “the one.” Many people have diverse interests that shift over time rather than one singular passion.

Can you be passionate about more than one thing? Yes. Many people have multiple passions that may shift over time. Having diverse interests is normal and healthy— you don’t lack focus just because you’re interested in more than one thing.

What’s the difference between a passion and a hobby? A hobby is something you do for enjoyment in your spare time with low stakes. A passion is something you find meaningful, invest significant time and energy in, and consider part of your identity— even when it’s challenging.