Life Planning Part II: Finding Your Passion

21st May, 2011 - Posted by L. John Mason -

Easier said than done. AND, how can you turn a passion into a success in your life? (or how can you make money doing what you are passionate about?) Finding your passion is the first step. Translating your passion into a career path might be challenging or not even necessary.

Dictionary.com defines passion as:

1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate. 2. strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor. 3. strong sexual desire; lust.

For the sake of this article, let’s focus on the first definition and take amorous feelings and desire for another article. A powerful or compelling emotion or feeling regarding an object or activity might work for the context of this blog. Perhaps you have a strong feeling about an activity like a favorite hobby, or sport, or style of art, or a special positive social interaction (like engaging in “group processing” or communication.) If you like to participate in this activity, and it is safe and legal, then perhaps you need to find a way to make sure that you are involved with this activity on a regular basis. This might be weekly or monthly or even several times per year. To have balance in your life, you may need to find ways of interacting with a passionate activity on some kind of schedule. A friend loved to visit art museums and bask in the presence of this artistic beauty. My friend would schedule a monthly visit to a museum or art shrine and celebrate this time and the effort to get there.This ritual, for her, seemed to be an essential element of a happy and healthy life.

For many of us, we have kept our heads down, pursuing a career path or an educational endeavor that has not allowed a change in focus. It is NOT healthy to be completely consumed by a single focus. There might be a few exceptions for brief periods of time, but generally not the healthiest of strategies. We require balance in our lives with varying degrees of need for career/work, education, creativity, spiritual practice, exercise/healthcare, family/relationships, healthy friendships, and financial security. If one or more of these are lacking in your life, or out of correct balance for you, then you run the risk of physical or emotional disease, diminished quality of life, or a reduced level of performance and productivity. If you do not know what you might be lacking in your life to sustain the highest levels well-being, consider investing time in a life coaching program or a therapist.

Now that you have examined the challenge of balance, you will want to explore what really “floats your boat.” What do you embrace with the feelings of enjoyment or “connection” that makes you want to get up early in the morning, throw on your clothes, and dive into the deep end with excitement? Some relationships start off this way (and some endure longer) but there are other activities in life that can create this passion. I remember when I first tried downhill skiing. At the time, I could afford the time, money, and physicality to do this sport 30 days a year. It made me feel “alive” and I created the time and resources to get myself to the slopes many days a season for nearly a decade. For me, this was a passion. For me, a stonger and more enduring passion has been to connect with people and to share information and experiences related to stress management. I have truly been lucky to find a passion that I can engage in that also is my career path. The path that lead me to this came after 10 years of self-exploration, education/training, and multiple attempts at under-satisfying work.

Remember, not every passion turns into a professional endeavor. Sometime you may want to separate your passion from the chasing of your financial goals. As an example, music can be a passion and important form of self-expression, but making a career of it can cause painful challenges. When a musician wants to play one style of music, but another style is commercially popular, it can cause conflict and creative dilemmas. Another example: a found passion of volunteering to help certain groups of people may be better as a part time activity than as a full time career. Passion for something does not mean that you can afford to do this activity 100% of your time. Remember that you need a healthy balance in your life.

So what creates that spark for you? Can you learn more about this activity? Is it safe? Can you afford it financially (or do you have to save up some money to try it)? Can you eventually carve time out of your busy schedule to give this activity a try or at least explore it (study it) so you can begin to determine if it should have a more regular place in your life? If you try it and if it feels “right,” what are the next steps to learning about how to “master” this activity and how can you take the steps to move in that direction? This is a process AND not everything you attempt will be a good fit for you. I was invited to join a rugby team at one time in my life and after participating in one practice I realized that I needed a lot more exposure to this new sport before I could step, safely, on the field to participate… (I put that idea on hold… for the rest of my life….) Another example, I felt I would have a passion for skydiving (jumping out of perfectly good airplanes…) I tried it. It was fun! But, I did not feel the passion to attempt to be a master skydiver. Life needs to be explored and you may need to be challenged, but not every idea will lead you to a new, life-long passion.

If you have found one or more activities that create passion for you then you wish to invest time and energy into finding whether this passion can become a viable career move. Perhaps there are ways to take a piece of a passion and build a business model that will work for you. My friend Tim Warren had a passion for travel and created a successful business in the travel industry acting as a consultant for business who provide services in the adventure travel industry. He has travelled the world to participate in adventurous tours and then gets to assist these companies to get more paying clients. This has been a perfect fit for him. Remember, he still has to do the work and it is not all fun and games, but he can live his passion for adventure travel. If you are ready to make a serious commitment to turning your passion into a business then you may want the support of a business consultant or coach that will assist in developing, and executing, a plan to create a successful business.

If you have found your passion in the work you are already engaged in doing, you are fortunate. You may want assistance in learning new skills to do this better or you may want to develop the leadership (or management) skills that you already are using. Mentors, courses, coaches, and other successful role-models exist to aid you in improving the skills to be even more successful in your career. You do not have re-invent every step yourself but it may require doing some research to find the correct mentors or coaches that will work best for you. (Do not settle for the first contact you make without checking this coaching process out thoroughly.)

I know from experience that following your passion is worth the time, risk, and effort. I also know that it is not always the path to have the greatest financial success. You might be able to make more money doing other work, BUT you may be happier and healthier working your passion! Money is not always the pathway to your happiness. I encourage you to find your passion and explore all possibilities to allow it safely into your life.

If you require assistance in the exploration or implementation of your passion, consider contacting the Stress Education Center for coaching or training. Contact www.dstress.com for an introduction to the coaching process.