5 questions to Unlock your Passion
“Working hard for something you don’t believe in is called stress. Working hard for something that you do believe in, is called passion”
-Simon Senek
Wherever you put your attention, your intentions will follow.
Meaning: Whatever you focus on, you will attract more of in your life.
Many of us can already be our own worst enemy without anyones help. Unfortunately once you’re already in that state of mind, the universe is just going to send more of that your way!
For example:
Do you ever feel like you’re constantly thinking about, wasting time on, or spending time around negative/toxic people?
Do you find yourself often revisiting past experiences that still bother you or cause you unnecessary stress/anxiety?
Have you ever found yourself creating fake scenarios or arguments in your head with people who aren’t even around you at that time? (Don’t worry everyone does it…)
If you answered yes to any of that, then chances are there is something or someone buzzing there that is not in alignment with your character and your values!
Therefore, if you’re only surrounding yourself and focusing on people who disagree with your values, OR you’re working for someone who you feel -
1. Doesn’t stand for something you believe in.
2. Doesn’t value you.
Then all of your focus will continue to flow towards negativity, pessimism, and STRESS!
If you want to find more passion in your life, you need to become crystal clear and hyper aware of YOUR VALUES.
They will be the breadcrumbs for you to follow in the process of discovering what truly matters to you.
Yes, we are human beings and all entitled to our own opinions, perspectives, and emotions which is naturally going to lead to some “healthy” conflict every now and then—but, while you’re busy wasting your life away in this stressful state walking on eggshells and constantly focusing on all the things wrong your current situation, the game clock is still ticking on your life.
However…
What if you were able to apply this simple exercise to save you the five years that you spent stressed and angry, and instead used it to towards discovering your passion, or finding a team or boss that had a vision and morals that were in alignment with your values?
If you’re at a job that you’ve been for a while, you’re somewhere that the money is too good to leave, or you just can’t imagine where else you’d go—DON’T PANIC!
I’m not telling you to drop everything and bounce.
Yes, it might work out for you, but we’re also in the middle of a mild pandemic and recession so that’s kind of like jumping out of an airplane without packing your parachute.
This exercise is simply meant to create more self-awareness to what matters to you, and to help you SHIFT where you put your attention so that your INTENTIONS will follow and become more clear.
I’ll talk more in detail about all of this in my “PASSION TO-GO” work shop, but for right now all you need to remember is, what you choose to focus on is what you will bring more of into your life. If you focus on lack, doubt, negativity, resentment…guess what you’ll find more of?
Instead, I want you to become crystal clear on what you love (about this life, and yourself) what brings you joy, and the mission you’d like to ultimately serve (don’t worry, this will unravel in time if it doesn’t happen right away).
LETS GO!!
Write down on a piece of paper the following practices (yes, with a pen, not on your phone, you need to feel this).
Also, I want you to set a timer for 10 minutes. This will prevent you from overthinking or over analyzing what you want to put down. You can perform this exercise as many times as you would like—in fact I encourage it so that it stays fresh on your mind!
You may find that each time you put down something different, and that’s okay too.
Essentially, we are trying to create some awareness to all that you value so that the clearer you become on it, the sooner you can cultivate it, and seek that which is seeking you!
1. What do I value?
- This is an exercise to get you feeling more in tune with your own frequency. Close your eyes and think about what it is that you truly value and cherish in this world. Just start simply with things like: taking care of family, trust, loyalty, working for someone who appreciates me etc… You can list as many as you’d like!
- What are some things in your current life or occupation that are causing turmoil and a divide between these values?
For example: Your schedule, your boss, your coworker, stress, the position, your self confidence etc..
- Become hyper aware of these so that you can recognize them as triggers when they pop up and you are able to identify them and create backstops to handle them as you grow your passion plant.
2. What are my best qualities?
- GET REAL WITH YOURSELF! There is no one else on this planet to come before you or after you that is exactly like you. There are qualities, skills, values, characteristics that make you so unique and amazing and if you’re not aware of them it’s because you have been living a life of shame, doubt, and lack.
It’s so easy to focus on our imperfections and all that we hate about ourselves because we are constantly comparing our rough chapter to other peoples highlight reels. God gave you a finger print unlike anyone else, and within that design comes a story that is meant to be told and enjoyed by you and for those around you! Shake that shit off and dig deep!
- If you really can’t think of anything, ask someone close to you and see what they say.
- Isolate the differences between your skills and your passions! Sometimes people skip right over their skill set and focus too much on what brings them temporary happiness.
For example: Everyone would love to lay on a beach and work on their own time. However, it’s your skill set that you need to analyze and capitalize on in order to get you to the point that you can live that lifestyle. From there you can grow your skillset and best qualities into a passion.
- More often than not, what you’re naturally good at and dismiss, is exactly the place you need to explore first.
3. Who do I want to impact?
- Life is a game of cause and effect. Whose life do you want to effect and leave a lasting positive impression upon that can cause them pay it forward?
- For me, I believe my purpose is to shake up those in the service industry and help them realize all they are capable of in their lives and their current occupations.
- Maybe for you it’s your family, your friends, your co-workers, or your customers. Maybe you want to find a team to become a part of so you can help elevate and empower each other. Maybe it’s a niche audience that means a lot to you and you’d like to help serve and leave a lasting positive impression on.
- I challenge you to dream BIG here and don’t let the HOW creep in and stop you yet.
4. What are some ways I can do this?
- If you’re in a job like the service industry, you come in contact with 20-100+ people a day, so that’s a pretty great place to start implementing and reframing the things you’ve mentioned so far.
- If you’ve come up with your target audience of who you want to impact and serve, use this time to brainstorm all the ways that you could make a lot of small changes in your life and routine that could make a difference in your mindset or heartset.
For example: Trying to make a conscious effort to remember names. Work on communication skills like listening and asking questions. Start reading more books about self improvement…etc
- If you are trying to develop a service, write a book, become an influencer, build a business etc.. start by researching and surrounding yourself with other authors, entrepreneurs, and CEO’s so that you can begin to see what it takes.
- This is more about living with intention, rather than crafting up the master scheme right now.
5. What do I want to be remembered for when I die?
- Grim? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely!
- It’s going to happen whether you like it or not, so the more you let the inevitable sunset motivate you to take action towards living a life that you, and those around you, will remember and cherish is the key to getting your ass moving in a direction that matters to you. Stop being afraid of taking risks for fear of judgment or failure! In the end its going to be the choices that you hesitated on or never acted upon that you will regret.
Keep this on a piece of paper somewhere that you can see it, or take a picture of it on your phone and save it as your background. Review it every morning when you wake up and each night before you go to bed. This is a time where your brain is most susceptible to powerful suggestions so if you spend it rehearsing what you believe in and reminding it what you are searching for, its more likely to make itself present to you.
The goal of this exercise is to get you living a life with that’s filled with passion, purpose and pride. I want you to stop living a life of stress focused around working for someone else, and instead focus on living a life filled with passion focused around working towards something!
Life isn’t always about the HOW, it’s about the WHY. You might hear people use the saying “life is about the journey not the destination”, but I really believe that having some semblance of a destination (even if its temporary and continues to change) is what makes the journey enjoyable when it’s fun, and bearable when it’s not.
Stop obsessing over not yet discovering your LIFE’S PURPOSE!
Instead, focus on living your life ON PURPOSE with intentions that are in alignment with all that you value.
You’re fucking awesome. Start living like it.
—- If you found this helpful and are interested in diving deeper into discovering and developing your life’s purpose, email me at Beyondthebarcoaching@gmail.com to claim your spot for the “Passion, To-Go” workshop coming in the fall!