I am passionate about Italy. I wanted to have an excuse to visit Italy more often so I designed Couples Retreats to Italy and invited my clients to join me there. I brought one of my passions to life by creating work that I loved. Here I am in the sunflowers of Tuscany one year. It was 100 degrees but you’d never know it from my expression. I was just so happy to be there.
Passion is not only necessary in your significant relationship, it is absolutely necessary if you are to have a meaningful life and a sense of wellbeing and satisfaction. Finding your passion is your soul’s highest purpose.
Since so much of our identity comes from our work, it’s important for your emotional, psychological and spiritual well- being that you choose work that excites and energizes you. Unfortunately there is a misconception that there are only certain careers that one can feel passionate about and others are just “jobs” to pay the bills.
I will always remember Jack the plumber who came to help us with a flooded basement one summer. I never knew someone could be so passionate about plugged pipes and backed-up drains. At one point he stuck his whole arm into the sewer and pulled out the culprit. “It’s roots”, he said with glee, obviously pleased with himself.
Passion is not some magical ingredient that is found intrinsically in our jobs, our relationships, or in our day. The source of passion is YOU–what are your passions? When are you passionate? Excited? Enthusiastic? Pay attention to this. you bring to your day and the people you interact with. Passion is who you are — you either love life or you’re bored with life.
So many people I see today are emotionally and psychically absent from their work. Sometimes it’s because they are out of balance–one area of their lives, say their core relationships, are not working and this negative energy robs them from experience joy in other areas. Many people have long suppressed their passion for life, so accessing passion for what they do for a living is next to impossible. Og Mandino expressed it well when he said, “Many people die at 40. They’re buried at 80.”
We all have special talents and gifts. If you align yourself with your passions, you’ll have a compass for your life, a focus, a purpose. If you don’t know what your passion is or which career to pursue, here are some suggestions on how you can connect to your passions.
Pay attention to your gut feelings:
Gut feelings have saved lives, discovered cures, and made people millions. They come as a hunch, a flash, a deep knowing. The problem is so many of us tune feelings out in favour of something more logical or rational. Feelings are sacred. They are your barometer for what’s really important. Go inwards. Listen. Keep a journal. Make friends with your feelings.
Pay attention when you’re enthusiastic:
“Entheos”, the Greek root of “enthusiasm”, means “filled with God”. Studies show that people with enthusiasm have stronger immune systems because they’re high on life. Enthusiasm comes from your “well of passion” deep inside. When you feel this way, your soul is speaking, you feel endless energy, exhilaration. To find your passion, tune into your enthusiasm.
Pay attention to synchronicities:
The German poet Goethe once said that when you commit yourself to something then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help you that otherwise would never have occurred. Have you ever been attracted to a book, a career, a person only to have them keep popping up in your life in strange ways? That’s the power of synchronicity. Synchronicities aren’t just coincidences, they’re meaningful coincidences. They mark significant points of transition in your life and they point you in the direction of your purpose.
Keeping passion alive is about courage, the courage to be who you are regardless of the consequences. Living with passion is about living on the edge — it’s about pushing yourself to grow outside your comfort zone. Remember the message of the movie Good Will Hunting. All professions are honourable…but there is no honour in laying bricks if you have the heart of an artist. There is no honour in a desk job if your heart yearns to roam the land. The point is strive to know your authentic self and then be it! The outcome — a more passionate and meaningful life.
