Finding your passion is like solving a mystery—you need to
know how to interpret the clues that indicate you are on the right track.
Five Passion Clues
Here are five passion clues:
- You would do the work even if you did not get paid for it. You may believe that you can’t do what you love and make the money you need. You may despair
over past downturns or other social and political upheavals. So you conclude that
work is for survival, not inner satisfaction. You lack faith in the creative process
and cycles of life. Learn from your mistakes and make better choices in the future.
- You are focused on mastering your work, not just on outcomes. Mastery means that you work to become great at what you do. As you work, you are open to criticism
that shows you how to improve your work and to stand up for what you believe.
- You are transformed into a better person as you do the work. When you do the work you love, the experience of giving without expecting a return transforms
you into a disciplined, effective person. You focus on what you can control. Because
of your concentration and self-discipline, your work becomes a finer expression
of who you are. Your commitment to excellence turns you into a kinder, more powerful
person.
- You are not aware that time is going by. As you do the work you love, you
feel as if time is standing still. You are in a high, peaceful place, quietly
observing without judging. This highly creative state of mind produces startling,
new, and original discoveries, which you apply to your work.
- You are paid to be who you are. Getting paid to work at your own pace and
in your own way is a clue that you are on the path to passion. You are true to
your temperament, and you do not betray your values to please others.
Five Warning Signals
Here are five signals that let you know that you are headed in the
wrong direction or off the passion track:
- Making money is your priority. Material goals often interfere with expression of the feelings. And since passion is an intense feeling, you need to make inner
satisfaction your priority.
- You are concerned about how you look in the eyes of others. The need for recognition is often a holdover from your teens or childhood. Set goals that will gain your
own approval and overcome your fear that you are not good enough as you are.
- You are focused on the end result, not the process. Worrying about the outcome of any goal can sabotage your peace of mind. Keep focused on the day. Set small
goals and reach them to gain confidence about larger goals.
- You take shortcuts to achieve your objectives. Mediocrity is the result of taking shortcuts. The best path is difficult at first, then gets easier; the wrong
path is easy at first, then gets difficult!
- You sacrifice your needs for others’ needs. Self-sacrifice can be noble, but not when it is destructive to your health, such as when you let others take
advantage of you. See people as they are, not as you want them to be. Honesty
is the most effective way to balance your needs with their needs. PE
