Passions come and go, and they don’t always make themselves visible when you need them to, but they will be out there, somewhere. After spending my 20s dabbling in everything, I was quite lost. I had set up a salon business on a whim, but I started to lose interest and wondered: what is my true passion? What drives me? It took a combination of logical and creative thinking to reach an understanding.

First, I took time out. This is very important. Overloading your mind with trivial daily chores doesn’t allow you to achieve higher levels of thought. I moved out of London and back to Wolverhampton. I spent 18 months living at a wonderfully slow pace, hanging out with family, reading and thinking. Without the distractions of endless social gatherings, you get time to understand yourself. Setting a D-date (decision date) is a good idea so that the process doesn’t drag on too long.

But you don’t need to move 100 miles to get headspace: simply scheduling a long Saturday afternoon walk in empty fields will do. Go on your own, though. It’s remarkable what your brain comes up with when you aren’t preoccupied with other people.

Second, logical thinking: while in my bolthole, I made a list of my various careers and obsessions, and thought about the times when I was truly satisfied.

Your passion can also be a calling. What are you good at that makes people feel amazing? A combination of self-satisfaction and service to others can help you discover where your passions lie. Once I discovered that mine was to help women become economically independent, I moved back to London to start over by building Beautystack with focus and clarity.





• Sharmadean Reid is the founder of WAH Nails and beautystack.com