There are times in life when your spirit (soul, universe, chakras—whatever your beliefs) speaks to you. For all intents and purposes, it would behoove you to listen. Listening generally puts/keeps you on target. Not listening often takes you off course. But thank God for GPS units (your spirit, soul, universe, chakras—whatever your beliefs) that are designed to keep you on track. Case in point: have you ever mapped out your destination using a GPS and—despite having the best laid plans—you found yourself on the wrong road because you misread the directions? Super GPS comes to the rescue! Without doing anything, the system automatically recalculates and puts you back on the road to your destination.
Let’s assume in life we have a GPS. The chip in said GPS is your spirit (soul, universe, chakras—whatever your beliefs). One component or input into said GPS is “passion.” That would necessarily mean that passion—and the ability to define and articulate such—would be a crucial part of our roadmap…and our existence.
Let’s grab a working definition, friends:
pas∙sion noun [pash-uhn]
[1-3 omitted for the sake of time but my goodness are they interesting and relevant]
4a (1) : EMOTION (2) plural: the emotions as distinguished from reason
b : intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction
c : an outbreak of anger
5a : ardent affection : love
b : a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept
c : sexual desire
d : an object of desire or deep interest
Soooooo…
According to Merriam-Webster, passion is an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling of conviction; a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.
Now…
There is a school of thought that suggests we should live a life of purpose…driven by our passions.
And that our profession—since it occupies 2/3 of our waking life—should be rooted in our passions.
So dear friend, the question(s) that I ask you (ME):
- about what are you passionate?
- what is the thing(s) that is an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling of conviction; a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept…that you can NOT stand to ignore?
- have you been successful at marrying your passions with your profession?
- do you even believe it’s possible to marry your passions with your profession?
- do you think it’s necessaryto marry your passions with your profession?
- do you knowanyone who has accomplished this feat?
- is it indeed a feat or is it the least to which we should strive?
I believe career success is predicated on passion to some extent—passion for an industry, a function, for knowledge, for mastery, for winning, for compensation, etc.
So, bringing this full circle…
We are all put here on this earth to accomplish a specific purpose. That purpose is aligned with your inherent passions. Until you’re operating in that space—whether professionally or extracurricularly (ßtotally aware that’s not a word but my passion is a passion for making up words)—I don’t believe you will live your fullest life and I don’t believe you will live your most authentic life. People can recognize an inauthentic spirit (soul, universe, chakras—whatever you believe). Your route will constantly change (voluntarily or involuntarily, my friends) until you’re operating in your passions and you’re living an authentic life. Your GPS unit will constantly recalculate until you’ve identified said passions—your compass and your roadmap. Therefore, spend the time it takes to truly identify and articulate your passions. Don’t stop short of envisioning a life of passion just because you can’t figure out “the how”. And don’t talk yourself into believing that the pursuit of such is nothing more than just a hopeless ideal. Listen to your life…
So friends, be true to yourself. Be bold. Be authentic. Be passionate.
Leave a Reply