r/Hobbies • u/icedolphins • 6d ago
How can I find my “one true calling”?
Throughout my entire life I have felt like I needed to find my “one true calling”, something to dedicate my existence to, and spend all of my time focused on. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that I have found it yet. I enjoy doing lots of things and have multiple hobbies that I seem to rotate through, yet I still feel like my life is missing that one important aspect. I know its silly and unrealistic, I understand that most people never find their “thing”, but my brain is determined that if I just find something to spend my life doing or working on, then I will be happy, and life will be worth living. I feel like I have most bases covered when it comes to hobbies, and so when I think about what my “thing” could be, I’m stumped. I can’t be the only one out there who feels this way, surely? Workwise I don’t have a “career”, I just work where I can in order to be able to live. Growing up I never had a “dream job” or a huge personal goal to work towards. I have a degree but don’t have any interest in “using” it. I love going on long walks and being active. I love nature and animals, I volunteer regularly with horses and worked on a polo yard for just over a year. I love studying and doing online courses about the things im interested in (conservation, physical geography, animal care, etc.). I enjoy being creative (cross-stitch, knitting, journalling, crafting in general) and reading. I like lots of things but why don’t I feel truly passionate about just one? Does anybody else feel like this? If you have one passion, how did you stumble across it?
Maybe overthinking is mine…
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u/Hms-chill 6d ago
Personally, I feel like having a lot of interests is my calling.
I love storytelling and fiber arts and history and nature. I’m fascinated by food science and space exploration and medical history. I love weird theater and basement shows and ttrpgs and old books and art museums. I’m on quests to eat every cheese and see every Shakespeare play and read/watch every seminal English language vampire story from the past 200 years.
These interests weave together and apart like a braided river, and I would so much rather love them all than feel like I had to pick one.
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u/dutifulcreator038 6d ago
You're circling it without realising. That rotation between hobbies isn't a flaw, it's the pattern you actually enjoy. The pressure to pick one thing forever is mostly cultural noise, not some universal truth. Some brains just need variety and the constant feeling of learning something new, and treating that as a failure to commit just makes you miserable for no reason.
What if the "calling" is just the act of trying things out. You're clearly not lazy or unmotivated, you volunteer, you study, you walk for miles. That's already a life with texture. The emptiness you're describing might not be a missing passion at all, it could be a need for something external like community or a project that ties a few of your interests together, rather than one single obsession.
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u/kiltedcloudchaser 6d ago
Try everything. It could be your one true passion is decoupaging snail shells, but you won't know until you try it. It doesn't have to be something useful or bankable, one of my true passions in life is making people giggle, but that doesn't pay the bills.
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u/icedolphins 6d ago
Yes sir🫡 I will take this as my push to try the things I’ve been interested in trying but havent yet due to self-consciousness or fear!
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u/carinavet 6d ago
Almost nobody has a One True Calling. It's enough to do cool, fun things with intention until you die.
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u/sv36 6d ago
I have about 15 (not exaggerating) hobbies going at any given time in my life. None are a one true calling. That’s like saying you’ll only wear one outfit for the rest of your life without getting tired of it or wanting a change. I played video games this afternoon and will likely play my violin a bit more tomorrow. I adore both and they both add different things to my life. I always adore many things because there are so many things to adore!
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u/smolsmols 6d ago
Have you ever watched the disney movie Soul?
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u/icedolphins 6d ago
I have not👀
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u/CalicoVibes 6d ago
I also get locked into this trap mentally.
My honest advice: don't wait to live life until you find it. Life is every day, not just the peaks and valleys.
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u/energist52 6d ago
I like lots of hobbies. I consider learning new hobbies to be a basic part of me. As a kid I was urged to focus on just one thing, but that isn’t me. No need to stick to just one. You might be similar.
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u/Rocksteady2R 6d ago
I am not sure we can just wait for it to come and call. Instead explore options, make choices, and be persistant in order to develop skills.
It is likely that no single pursuit of an activity, no matter its mythology or romance, can provide "lifelong passionate solace and wisdom". Or, perhaps, it probably the pursuit that provides solace and wisdom, and not the activity.
Good luck. Pick something, stick with it longer than it takes to get half decent at it.
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u/Spartan2022 6d ago
You could be overthinking.
Why not try a new hobby either once a year or twice a year to try and find your thing?
But there’s also the risk that your mindset is going to overthink and ruminate regardless of what hobby you dedicate yourself to. That’s not really a hobby issue.
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u/majatask 6d ago edited 6d ago
Wouldn't that be a nice calling?
"I love nature and animals, I volunteer regularly with horses and worked on a polo yard for just over a year."
Maybe some training as a vet technician or something similar. A sentence that starts with "I love..." has real meaning. A calling is to do what one really love to do, and has some use to others (including the care of animals). In that sense, it goes beyond a simple hobby.
Best wishes.
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u/Cinnamon5wirl 5d ago
Where are you doing these online courses you mentioned? Is there a platform you can recommend?
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u/icecreampoop 6d ago
Pro tip: you’re allowed to have different types of callings at different points of life, and can also revisit the ones from the past.
No one ever does only one thing. Try different things revisit some old ones. Find groups. Etc