Passion is found in the journey not a destination.
As humans, we are focused on the destinations in life or the milestones society has defined as success e.g. going to kindergarten, graduating 5th, 8th and 12th grades, earning a college degree, marriage, kids, the perfect job, the perfect house oh and yes the most awesome dog ever! Oops, I forgot the coveted pre-school acceptance for those two kids! You get the point, so many milestones and destinations!
As I rolled into my 40s I began to realize the more we focus on the destinations the less we embrace the journey of life. The journey is the adventure, the experience, and learning to get up after falling on our knees while giving our all to something we are passionate about.
I’m curious, what are you passionate about? Did your answer come flying into your mind or are you feeling puzzled and uncomfortable? Either answer is perfect! Sometimes it is crystal clear and other times it’s just plain foggy.
As we grow and change with the seasons and our age, our passions can shift. I remember feeling really uncomfortable several times in my life when people would ask me, “What are you passionate about?”
I would try to remember what I replied last time so it would appear I had it all together or try to come up with what I thought they wanted to hear. All the while, feeling less than adequate because I didn’t have a passion! Sound familiar?
One day, I started to dig beneath the topsoil of my life to see what I could learn and discover. To see if there was a hidden passion I kept eluding on my drive to the next destination. What I discovered was I’m passionate about relationships.
Relationships of all kinds: my husband and kids, friends, extended family, colleagues and clients. Relationships have been a part of my life forever yet I couldn’t identify that as my passion because I thought it had to be something outside of me, not simply who I was and my innate strengths. Building relationships comes natural for me and I assumed it was the same for others. As my daughter would say, “Mum, you know what happens when you assume! You make an ass out of u and me!” So lesson…never assume.
Okay, back to you…are you ready to dig deeper and get underneath the topsoil in your life to discover your passion? Here are a few questions to get you started on your journey:
- What comes natural to you? You do it without thinking about it.
- When do you feel, yes feel, on fire?
- What were you doing when you got that feeling?
- What was your favorite thing to do when you were a kid?
As part of my journey, I read Daniel Pink’s book Drive and in the book he posed the question, “What’s your sentence?” What would you write as a summary sentence to describe who you are?
What was my sentence? How would I summarize ME? How would I describe how I wanted to be remembered? I simply started writing and low and behold it developed into this…”I am a fierce woman and coach who creates meaningful relationships with others to inspire and empower them to discover their passions by enjoying the journey through life.”
Tag, back to you…take a few minutes, get out a piece of paper and start writing what comes into your mind. Don’t judge it or over think it, just write…what’s your sentence?
Once you have your sentence, feel free to share it here. I’d love to read it!
If you are stuck and feeling uncomfortable and want to dig a bit deeper, click here to set up a discovery session with me.