Do you wake up every day eager to get to work? Do you love what you are doing so much that you often lose track of time? If not, it is time to put some passion in your life.
What exactly is passion? It is the feeling that you are doing exactly what you are meant to be doing…what you love doing and would gladly do for free. It is being so immersed in what you are doing that you lose all sense of time. Do you remember what that feels like?
Check out this amazing juggling finale by Chris Bliss, turning juggling into a dance to a trio of Beatles tunes. This is truly passion in action!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8f8drk5Urw[/youtube]
So, if you’ve forgotten what that kind of passion feels like, how do you get it back? Here are three simple questions to get you started. Just spend 30 minutes writing down your responses, and we will figure out what to do with them tomorrow. Don’t worry about the practicalities…now is the time to dream big and try to reconnect with the things you love to do.
- Remember back to your childhood…yeah, I know it was a long time ago, but you can get back there if you try
What did you love to do all day? What was the one thing your mother couldn’t get you to stop, even when it was dinner time? For me, it was reading. I would get so absorbed in my book that I didn’t even hear my mother when she called me in to dinner. What was it for you? Sports, playing an instrument, drawing, dancing? Do you still have that activity, or something like it, in your life? - If you can’t remember what you loved doing, try this. When you were a kid and someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, what did you say? A fireman, a doctor, an artist? I wanted to be an author, but I never told that to anyone. I knew I was expected to become a nurse or a teacher, or follow in my mother’s footsteps and be a housewife. Did anyone laugh at you when you shared your dreams? Did your parents urge you to go to college and study something practical, to get a real job? Have you given up your dream, or is there still a part of it that you are holding on to?
- I know a lot has happened since your childhood. Maybe your interests have changed, maybe you have developed some new passions along the way. So let’s talk about the present. What do you love doing when you are not at work? Do you have a hobby? Do you love to spend time outdoors in nature? Are you an exercise freak, or into yoga and dancing? Write down anything that comes to mind…and pay special attention to the things you would do all day long if you had the chance.
Okay, we’re done for today. Tomorrow we’ll figure out what to do with all those passions you have unleashed. In the meantime, if you want some more inspiration, check out my recommended resources below.
Recommended Resources and Readings
If you answered the three questions and still have no idea what you are passionate about, check out the free online Passion Test. Created by Chris and Janet Attwood, the Passion Test is a simple and fun way to figure out what matters to you, and how to prioritize your goals to start creating the life of your dreams.
