There is a notion out there that if you follow your passion you will be happier. Career counselors and motivational speakers ascribe to this.
But what if you don't have a particular passion for anything?
Here's one way to find your passion.
Write down at least 3 things you are proud of. They could be accomplishments in your work, in school, or even things you did as a kid. Expand on them with a story. You don't need to be a good writer to do this. You are doing this for yourself and you don't need to show anyone, so go ahead and enjoy the process. After you complete the stories, go back and read them over. Look closely and highlight the action in the stories, that is look at the verbs and look at what you were doing. Were you developing, negotiating, inventing, supervising others, singing your heart out, or playing detective? There are hints in these stories that illustrate bits of your passion before life stripped them down and hid them from your view.
Here is one of my stories. See how the exercise works.
I was in first grade when I discovered that two of my classmates went to dancing school. They showed me a routine they were working on. I was so impressed, I asked the nun if we could set aside a time when the girls could show the rest of the class their dance number. The nun agreed and the day came for the girls to put on their show. I cleared out the desks in the front of the room and went out to the hallway where the girls were waiting in the wings. When I got there, I could see that they were frightened. I told them they had nothing to be afraid of. I told them how talented they were and it was only our class in there. The kids would love it because they didn't have to do schoolwork. That didn't work. Then I told them that they had to go on since it was a promise. That didn't work either. Finally, I told them that they were cowards and that they had to go in there or I would. Well, they didn't budge and I had to go on. I jumped around and around making up stuff as I went along. The class loved it.
From this story, we can see that I have a passion to showcase other's abilities. I like to produce, develop, and organize. I am encouraging and not afraid to be in front of a group. Did you notice how many times, "I told" appears in the story. Speaking is the most dominant means of communicating.
Not so coincidental that I am an event director, a coach, and group facilitator.
See what your stories bring forth.
Enjoy
with good intent
Regina
