For some, hobbies become their passion and they always have a strong
foundation for pursuing what they enjoy. For others it’s more
complicated because they either have trouble discovering the challenges
that inspire them, or that one thing that really makes them tick. Either
way, we all have something that excites us.
Finding passion in your workplace may be a difficult task since the
crowded, competitive, materialistic and often frustrating environment is
often not conducive to finding what makes you excited. To find your
passion, you must start with the belief that you can turn the grind of
your workplace into grist for your excitement and passion, then adopt
the following measures and see how your life changes.
Once we’ve found our passion we can grow it into anything we like,
whether it be a business, a hobby, a people’s network or simply
something that inspires us to get out bed in the morning. When we’re in
our passion, we have endless energy, we’re never bored and we are always
striving to improve ourselves doing what we love.
Here’s how to discover your passion.
15 Ways To Discover Your Passion
1. Identify your personal values:
These values are the ones that give you the greatest joy and
satisfaction. You feel deeply passionate about them as they come
naturally and do not create any internal conflict. These values often
surface during challenging times or when you are forced to make
difficult life choices, such as after great personal or professional
loss, the onset of a serious illness, an operation or burnout.
Most people’s innermost values emanate from family, work, self and
service. These could include personal accomplishments, security,
independence, friendships, integrity, power or community work. Identify
yours and write them down. Then have a look at them every day.
2. Interact with people who have the same interests:
People generally like talking about themselves and their passion, so
you’ll likely get a lot of good information from those people who are
interested in the same things you are. If they’ve turned it into a
business model, find out how they’re managing that side of things while
still enjoying what they do. Assess their reactions when they talk about
your passion. Are they engaged — or bored? It’s important to be a fair
witness and listen both objectively and subjectively to others about the
same things you love yourself.
3. Ask Why:
Our brains are wired to be curious. As we grow up and “mature” many of
us stifle or deny our natural curiosity. Let yourself be curious! Wonder
to yourself about why things are happening. Ask someone in the know.
The best way to exercise our curiosity is by asking “Why?” Make it a new
habit to ask “why?” at least 10 times a day. Your brain will be happier
and you will be amazed at how many opportunities and solutions will
show up in your life and work.
4. Change your story:
We all tell ourselves stories all the time about who we are, what we’re
capable of, what’s impossible and what we deserve. If we can identify
our self-limiting stories (I’m not good enough; I don’t deserve to be
happy, etc.), then we can begin writing new stories that are grounded in
confidence and courage, and map out actions that move us from one to
the other. You are capable of anything you decide is relevant to you.
Your story is your own so don’t try a duplicate somebody else’s story.
5. Get work-life balance:
Once you have narrowed down on your innermost values, reorganise your
work and activities around them. For example, if you need more work-life
balance, then start by planning your day more efficiently. Avoid
spending too much time on social networking sites, coffee breaks or chat
sessions and procrastination. You will be amazed at how much time you
will save. Be open to realistically realigning your ambitions
accordingly. Take on only as much as you can comfortably manage within
your regular working hours. Learn to say “No”. It is one of the greatest
gifts you can give yourself.
6. Recognize the themes in your life:
We all have them. What do you constantly gravitate towards? Recognizing
the recurring themes in our lives creates a pattern for us to either
follow or change. What themes or lessons seem to constantly surface in
your life? What are you drawn to again and again? What areas of life
seem to be full of discomfort and pain? What areas are full of joy and
light?
7. Practice work wisdom:
Be understanding with your peers and colleagues, irrespective of their
power or position. Avoid being part of office politics and discourage
your team from doing so. Keep your interactions transparent. Minimise
conflict; nip it in the bud by having a straightforward chat with the
person concerned.
Keep an open mind and be tolerant of other people’s opinions, even
the ones you disagree with. Your life will become less stressful when
you minimise conflict, a lot of which is anyway a result of your own
rigidity and intolerance. Remember that if you considered the life
experiences of others, you would probably be just like them. This
understanding is wisdom.
8. Push past the fear:
There is nothing the fear but fear itself. We are never afraid of what
we think we’re afraid of. We are only afraid of the fear and this
prevents us from moving forward. Too often we get wrapped up in the
expectations we set for ourselves and these are often centered around
our fears. It’s so seductive to tell ourselves that’s we’ll go after
what we want when we have more experience, more money, or more time, but
the truth is, that will never happen. We must identify these excuses as
masks for our fear. It’s only when we get clear on our fears and
recognize how it is holding us back, we can begin moving forward.
9. Cycles of consciousness:
Your consciousness waxes and wanes throughout the day . For most it
seems to go through 90 minute cycles, with 30 minutes of lower
consciousness. Watch yourself to recognize this cycle. If you learn to
recognize and track your mental state, you can concentrate on important
mental tasks when your mind is most “awake”. For creative insight into a
problem, do the opposite. Work on it when you are in a drowsy state,
when your conscious mind has slowed down.
10. You are not a victim and never have been:
When you truly understand that EVERYTHING that has happened in your life
has been for your highest good, you will naturally be called to serve
rather than experience what you believe is suffering. And we serve
through sharing our lessons and passion. This service does not
necessarily need to translate to a career. As we evolve from suffering
to love, we naturally feel more passionate about everything in our life
no matter what our job may be. We see that true passion is love. Loving
who we are, loving what we do, loving each other and sharing love
wherever we go.
11. Authenticity in communication:
If you have a team, encourage them to talk honestly and without fear.
Create a ‘safe space’ in which people feel free to speak the truth
without fear of reprisal. And practice the same yourself. Most issues
get resolved once you allow people to be truthful in a safe and
respectful environment. Creative solutions emerge and people feel more
connected and aligned. Each individual then gives their best, making
teams and organisations blossom.
12. Pay attention to who makes you annoyed or jealous:
Yes, you read correctly. Take a closer look at what annoys you. Is the
truth behind your annoyance that you really wish you could live so
freely, that you didn’t have so many serious responsibilities and could
be as liberated as they are in what they do? We often judge and are
annoyed by things we are most passionate about ourselves.
13. Embrace personal growth:
Personal growth is the result of introspection and taming your ego. At
work, you could start this process by learning to see the difference
between disagreements and personal attacks, between feedback and
criticism. Don’t let your ego get in the way of absorbing relevant
inputs from co-workers as that could actually help your own growth.
14. Notice when you lose track of time:
Time does not speed up when we’re having fun, it actually slows down. We
think it speeds up because we can spend endless hours doing what we
love. You will often lose your sense of urgency when you are in your
passion. When you start reverse clock-watching and get annoyed when time
goes by, you’re on to something. What would you love to spend hours
doing, that you never get enough time to do? That’s a passion, and you
probably need to do it more than you are.
15. You must enjoy what you are passionate about:
If you are not enjoying it, you’re probably not that passionate about
it. If you are not passionate about your work, be honest and identify
where your real passion lies. Once you have done that, try to either
integrate it within your work or make a planned shift to making a
livelihood out of what you are most passionate about.
There was one vice president of an IT company discovered his passion
for making chocolates. He started distributing samples to his colleagues
and they were giving him large orders for different occasions. Two
years later, his orders became so large that he quit his job and became a
full-time chocolatier.
