#passion #FindingYourPassion #LookingForYourPassion
People advise us that we won’t be truly happy unless we find our passion.
But, according to a study from Stanford and Yale-NUS in Singapore, searching for one’s passion may actually make it harder for people to figure out what they love to do.
The study was quoted in an article on the subject published July 28, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The Idea of ‘finding’ one’s passion implies that people have built-in interests just waiting to be discovered, and if you can simply figure out what they are, you will magically be able to embrace them,” the article quotes the study, which will be published in the journal Psychological Science.
True passion develops, and is not found, the article says. It develops “through being open-minded about delving into a new topic and being willing to put some work into it,” the article says.
Let’s look into this further. Let’s say you have a passion for art. You know it’s there, and you pursue it. It may not make you a good living, mind you, but you pursue it anyway. Then, you figure out how to make a living.
Now, if you have a job that’s hardly your passion, and you have no outside activities that you are really passionate about – OK, watching your favorite sports team, or other sedentary activities, doesn’t count — then, you have to find something that produces both passion and profit.
That requires LOOKING, rather than sitting and waiting for it to come.
It also requires THINKING — contemplating whether you could make something your passion.
Locating your passion requires action, not reaction. It requires pursuit and creativity, not serendipity.
Your passion could be placed in front of you by someone you know, or someone you don’t know but have just met. A person who truly is looking for his or her passion will look and listen when someone presents a new idea to him or her.
Again, if you are in a job that is NOT your passion, find something about the job that, if not arousing passion, will make you want to go to work every day with a smile.
Meanwhile, be open to new opportunities that may be presented to you. There are many great ways out there to make money outside of your job, that won’t interfere greatly with what you are already doing. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Going along and getting along will probably not produce passion. We all have things we have to do to take care of ourselves and our families. That doesn’t mean we can’t take time for things we really enjoy.
The ultimate passion comes when we love what we are doing, regardless of what other reward we get from it. But if that other reward is handsome, that’s a real bonus.
Yes, you can become passionate about something you know nothing about now. You have to look for that passion, and you have to know it when you see it. Then, you have to pursue it – with a passion.
Passions aren’t like snowflakes that fall from the sky. They are more like fires that have to be started, stoked and maintained. In other words, YOU have to ignite your passion.
You may not know it when you see it initially, but you must have the drive to create it, perhaps from some unexpected source.
Peter
Tag Archives: ” Find Your Passion
LIVES OF ORDER, BOREDOM
#lifeisgood #UnchainTheElephant #findyourpassion
“I had been seduced into a life of little conviction – a logical, systematic existence. My best talents had been buried beneath well-intentioned, but ultimately lifeless rules, meant to hem me into the corporate fabric.”
Erik Wahl
Life is good.
It is. Really. But for some, a “good life” is not enough. They have been taught what a “good life” is, and they live by what they are taught. Yet, they long to do something else — something their parents, teachers, preachers and bosses would never advise them to do.
Erik Wahl, in his book “Unchain the Elephant: Reframe Your Thinking to Unleash Your Potential,” compares an elephant’s behavior in the wild, vs. an elephant’s behavior in captivity. He points out that elephants that are born in captivity are chained to trees and posts. When they test the chain, and realize they can’t go anywhere, they eventually learn that they are not supposed to go anywhere. As a result, the tether becomes unnecessary and the captors need not fear the elephant will take off.
Wahl was told at a young age by a teacher that art was not his strength. He quickly became conditioned to believe that he would never be an artist. Yet, eventually he became a well-known graphic artist – but only after he got good grades, played by the rules and had a great corporate career.
“I gave away my freedom at a young age,” Wahl says.
Many of us want to please our elders. They purport to know what is best for us. So, as children, we listen, obey and are guided to a “good life,” whether we like it or not. Our elders truly believe they are only after our best interest.
But what if adulthood comes, and we find that though life is “good,” something is missing. How many people can, like Wahl, reflect on that, THEN take the steps to unleash a passion. Without passion, we go through the motions of life. Those motions may lead us to good things, but it is like pedaling a stationary bike. You might be making progress toward good health, but you are not going anywhere. Life is so good where you are, you believe, there is no need to go anywhere?
We all learn to take pleasure in little things. We are told to stop and smell the roses, as the song goes, but not if it’s going to delay your next work project. Completing work projects gives you the money to make life “good.”
What if you could make money without completing such projects? What if money came to you while you were stopping to smell the roses?
What if you could pursue your passion without worrying about making a living? Believe it or not, there are many ways out there to do that. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. If you can be financially successful pursuing your passion, as Wahl and others have done, that’s a gift. But many need a financial cushion to give them the time to pursue a passion.
Are you a chained elephant? Are you an elephant without the chain, who has been taught never to escape? Is what you have learned about creating a good life enough for you? If so, your stamina is to be admired. If not, and have a passion you might not dare pursue, think about the chained – and tame, unchained – elephant. With instincts marginalized, it has everything it needs for a “good” life.
Go wild, if you dare. You just might find a great escape.
Peter