by Shelley Dudley…
Doing what we really love is absolutely necessary if we want to be fully happy. Parker Palmer, in his book Let Your Life Speak said, “Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.” Profound thought.
Richard Chang, in his book The Passion Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Discovering, Developing, and Living Your Passion states that “So many of us are so busy juggling our day-to-day responsibilities that we have become strangers to our passion. We may get small glimpses, little moments of enjoyment and inspiration, but rarely do we benefit from continual or prolonged periods of passion. Our lives simply do not reflect what’s in our hearts.” Sadly, most people are too busy in their stressful day-to-day lives to have time to ponder happiness or how to achieve it. We’ve got too much to do, like getting the kids ready for school, planning dinner, packing lunches, getting to work on time, bowing to the boss’s whims as time drags by, etc. Who has time to think about what makes us happy, let alone what our passions are?
But a passionate life is possible.
Imagine this instead: you get up early, jumping out of bed, excited to go to work. You might put in more hours than the average person, but it doesn’t seem difficult to you, because your work hours just zoom right by. You are often in that state of mind referred to as “flow,” where you can lose track of the world and time, losing yourself in the task at hand. Work is not a chore, but something that is fun and interesting and exciting. It’s not a “job” but a passion.
Passion is the central power of the soul. Finding your passion means connecting with your inner being and feeling the energy that can transform your life. Passion is the energy that motivates action and action generates results.
Leo Babauta states that your passion “will be the thing that will get you motivated to get out of bed in the morning, to cry out, “I’m alive! I’m feeling this, baby!” and to scare your family members or anyone who happens to be in yelling distance as you do this.”
So how do you get to that energized, passionate state of flow? How do you discover what your passions are and bring them into your life? For the answers to that, you will need to look within. But first, a little story…
A martial arts enthusiast asked Bruce Lee to teach him everything he knew about martial arts. Bruce held up two cups, both filled with liquid. “The first cup,” said Bruce, “represents all of your knowledge about martial arts. The second cup represents all of my knowledge about martial arts. If you want to fill your cup with my knowledge, you must first empty your cup of your knowledge.” If you want to discover your true passions in life, you must first empty your mind of any pre-conceived notions.
You will want to ask yourself some questions:
What puts a smile on my face? Is it a certain person? Engaging in your favourite hobby?
Planning your next holiday? Helping others? Building an empire or leaving a legacy? Ponder this question well, since what truly makes you happy often sings to your soul and speaks of your passions.
What do you find easy or what do you have a particular talent for? Is there something you do that comes really easy to you because you have a love for it?
What sparks your creativity? Is it being in your favorite garden? Or a stimulating debate? The answer could well point to one of your passions.
What would you do for free? If you can answer this one, you’ve got it made, since loving something so much that you would selflessly devote your life to it, clearly states that it is a passion.
What topic dominates your conversation? Is there a topic you continually gravitate toward? If so, your inability to leave this topic on the table may stem from your passion for it.
What would you regret not having tried? If there were only one thing in life you could do, be, or have before you died, what would that one thing be?
What hidden clues does your home reveal? Walk around your home as if you were a detective. What clues to your passions do you find? Knick knacks from Africa, perhaps? What do the photos or pictures on the wall reveal? An intense love for family or friends? What about books or mementos on the shelves? If you did not know the person who owned this home, what would you guess about his or her passion in life?
If you are running dry on answers, ask your friends and family for their insights, although you may be surprised at what they say. Oftentimes, those closest can see strengths and passions in you that you may not see yourself. Be open to what they have to share.
If, after asking yourself many questions and listening to your soul’s reply, you are still not able to find your life’s passion, then it is time to break out of the mold. Perhaps the reason you haven’t found your passion is because you’ve not discovered it yet. Enroll in a class, attend a lecture or poetry reading, take up a new hobby or sport. Anything that will take you outside of your usual comfort zone will aid you in discovering new likes and dislikes, helping bring greater clarity.
Also, meditation is an excellent way to get in touch with your inner self, which will provide the drive and determination to pursue personal growth. It is a great way to calm the mind and cut out the noise of the world and our busy lives, allowing you to better hear what your soul has to say to you. You can start with simple meditation techniques in your spare time. Within your mind’s eye lies your greatest treasure – the window to your inner self. Explore it and become happier and healthier in life.
When you’ve generated a list of passions, it is easy enough to narrow that list down to your top 5 most important passions. Start with number one on your list and compare it with number two. Ask yourself, if I could only have, do, or be one of these two in my life, which one would it be? Keep the answer as your new number one and compare that to the next item on your list. Keep asking yourself which passion you would keep until your top five answers, or passions, have been prioritized and separated from the rest. Focus on these five and work to find ways to bring more of those activities into your life.
Passion is the soul’s desire to express its joy. In order to ignite your passion and find your soul’s joy, you need to bring your core values and your life’s purpose together. Take a moment to think about your core values, those that are really and truly important to you. Write down all your important core values as well as all aspects of your current life’s purpose onto one sheet of paper. Notice how they fit together and explore new ways to combine them. For example, if expression and creativity were two main values, and inspiring others was an important purpose, writing a book might be a way to ignite your passion.
Your purpose in life is to use your unique gifts and talents to make a contribution to the world. Follow your passion, do what you love, work in your strengths! You will not only live a more passionate life, you will bring greater joy and happiness into your life and the lives of those around you.
Copyright 2009, Shelley Dudley, Life Coach and Small Business Consultant
About the Author:
If you’d like to find out more about discovering your passion, goal setting, determining your priorities, creating an action plan, and overcoming barriers to achieving success, visit our website at http://omnitraining.biz.
Article Source:
You Can Do it! Discovering Your Passion
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I am blessed to have found my life purpose of teaching and empowering others at a young age. Having your own business as a healer and teacher can be challenging eventhough you are living your purpose. We had a school and clinic for eleven years and taught many levels of holistic health certification. It was a 7 day a week operation. Now, I have created a more balanced life with offering retreats in Sedona. We are a small retreat center and are able to have time off to retreat and enjoy our own life. I feel truly blessed.
Something that helped me in finding my passion was to be able to differentiate between what I really loved (I love how you’ve described our passion as something that “puts a smile on my face” or “sparks creativity” etc.) and what I was good at. Sometimes, I was really good at things because I had learned to cope in my life with those skills (for example, being very detail oriented, thorough, or being very perceptive with people). But coping skills are not the same as my passion! I had to come to a place where I could see past my coping skills and really feel the excitement deep inside that sometimes I was afraid to feel, and to know that that’s what my passion was all about. Thanks for a great article.
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