✨ ABOUT THAT PASSION YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE . . . ✨

✨ ABOUT THAT PASSION YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE . . . ✨

It seems like everywhere you turn, someone is advising you to have passion. Most especially if you are an entrepreneur wannabe.

Passion does indeed help. Some of the greatest entrepreneurs started out with nothing, but through passion, perseverance, an incredible belief in self and the product/service they were extolling, they grew into huge companies. Among many others, the story of Estee Lauder comes to mind.

But how do you know exactly what it is you are passionate about?

Talking strictly from personal experience, there are two types of passion: 

✅ Passion No. 1: The passion which is a belief in something that surpasses all others - a belief which comes from inside and which is a driver that is so powerful and overwhelming, it crowds everything else out;

✅ Passion No. 2: Then there is the passion which is a drive for excellence in disguise, and which applies to everything you do. Even what would appear to others to be a most boring project, comes alive through the passion and drive high achievers bring to it. It is also a drive that comes from within, and it is a drive most - if not all - overachievers have.

Passion No. 2, then, is a passion that can be brought to bear at all times on all things. While it does come from within, it can be taught, is mostly a matter of attitude, and it is indeed an important type of passion to have if you are to achieve success in life as well as in your career.

Passion No. 1, however, is that passion which is the "it" factor that sets some people apart. Some are incredibly lucky to discover it early in life, others find it later on in life. Some never find it at all. Some are deterred from pursuing it.

Again, for those for whom the matter is not so obvious, the question is posed, how do you discover what you're truly so very passionate about? This is an especially tough question for those individuals who can do a lot of things well - and enjoy doing them all.

There are positive and negative ways to answer that question. The positive is where you discover something that makes you giddy with enthusiasm, that you can't wait to wake up in the morning to get working on it, that fills every nook and cranny of your existence, that gives you great joy, and causes you to project positive and loving vibes - and that you can't wait to tell everyone about it.

But there is another way to discover what you are NOT passionate about, which can also help you narrow down the field considerably:

Listen to your body.

Your body has a wisdom of its own, and, sometimes may even know you better than you think you know yourself.

When working on something causes you to feel depressed, nauseated, dizzy, with stomach aches, and you fight getting out of bed in the morning; when everything turns into an excuse to postpone working on it; when it causes you see everything else in your life through a somber prism, lacking any joy, and you find it hard to laugh, then that's one field/project you are most definitely NOT passionate about, and it is time to stop punishing yourself trying to do something you obviously know deep inside is not for you.

Sometimes, something that originally gave you great joy, can morph into something that is not only no longer joyful, but sucks joy out of you. It can happen either because you yourself have evolved, or because the project/venture, etc. itself has  changed. Again, your body will most likely tell you it's time to let go, and find a new venture more aligned with your new circumstances.

One thing is for sure, unless you are one of the lucky ones who knew from the day they were born what they were born to do, one way to find out what moves you is through trying different things - especially things outside your comfort zone. Travel. Be curious. It helps being open to new ideas, new adventures, new interesting people.

In the meantime, Passion No. 2 will carry you far.

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