What’s your passion?

Several of my current clients face career questions. They’re not sure where their passions lie.

You might spend years doing something for which you’re qualified—or for which you might have trained in college. You do what needs to be done. You develop skills in certain areas. You are good at what you do. You may even like doing it. But you may have lost touch along the way with what really energizes and excites you. What would make you jump out of bed each morning? What gets you juiced and jazzed?

If you aren’t sure, you’re in good company.

Don’t despair, though. It’s never too late to change, to make choices that will incorporate your passion into your life in some way—if not as a career, then as a hobby or volunteer work.

So how do I know?
Many ways exist to discover your passion. Several books have been written about it, too. One that I often recommend to clients is Whistle While You Work: Heeding Your Life’s Calling by Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro. This book includes a delightful exercise to help you discover the gifts you naturally give to others and those you enjoy giving and using.

One other method I recommend is to reflect (and journal) on what you loved doing in childhood, when you were uninhibited and not yet loaded down with lots of life’s “shoulds.” What did you love to do? In what activities were you totally absorbed and lost? And conversely, what did you absolutely despise doing? What are the common threads running through those activities? Often this can tell you something about yourself. For example, after I lost my job I did this exercise. I discovered that being a nurturer and an encourager as well as being imaginative and creative wove a thread through everything on my childhood list. That ultimately led to my decision to become a life coach, something I realized I’d been doing informally much of my life—something I absolutely love doing.

Start paying attention today and discover your passion(s). If you want help doing so, please contact me. I would be honored to help you.