Last week I was in Florida. The trip was good and the meeting productive. There were some challenges getting home, nothing too horrible.
In the light of these challenges I started writing in my journal. I wasn’t sure where it was going, but I felt the need to write. I started writing about the need to find peace. Peace at work, peace at home, peace at play. I started to drift off about work needing to be in alignment with my passion.
This concept of work being centered around a passion has come up for me before. What is my passion? Is there more than one? What if I pick the wrong one? Why do I find it so hard to declare my passion? I can see the passion in others, why is it so hard for me?
Then, I started thinking about my passion in a different way. Maybe a passion isn’t a something. How can this be? I hear people all the time, “I’m passionate about photography”, “I’m passionate about soccer”…these are definitely things. I see other people whose’ passions change and evolve over time. How can this be? If someone is truly passionate about something how can it change?
Perhaps, what most people refer to as their passion is really the expression of their passion. Perhaps the expressed passion is just a vehicle to put a person in the right mindset, the right place, or to be with the right people to experience their true passion.
An example is appropriate. To test this theory, I asked my wife about her passion. She immediately responded with “horses”. We talked about it further and discovered that getting out into nature gives her a chance to reflect on life, get away from her concerns and recharge. Taking her horse out on trail is how she gets herself there.
Maybe a passion has a set of values associated with it. For example, when someone says they’re passionate about volunteer work. Maybe what they’re really passionate about is the contribution, or the relatedness of working with people.
I guess what I’m getting at is that you need to look at what’s under a passion. Is the thing you do truly your passion? Or, is it an expression of your passion?
By decoupling the passion from it’s expression, I’m given a lot of freedom. I know that I can be passionate about creating…whether it be using a camera, a piece of wood, or a programming language. It’s all creating, and that’s what fills my cup.
What fills your cup? How many different ways can you find to fill your cup? By creating this distinction I find that I’m free to explore many different aspects of my passion. I can find ways to explore it at home, at work, at play, and, even on a plane coming home from Florida.
What are your thoughts? Comments?