Notice and Name Your Passion

Passion.

We all have a sense of how it applies to ourselves, but there isn't really one clear and agreed-upon meaning. This makes it a tricky thing to talk about, since we're all talking about slightly different things.

For some people, their passion is all about the mission or subject of the work they do: The zookeeper who wants to protect animals, the football-obsessed referee, the pediatrician who has always loved helping children. Their constant and deep love for the subject of their work made their career choice a no-brainer.

Seth Godin shares another way we can have passion saying, "It's more important that you be passionate about what you do all day than it is to be passionate about the product that is being sold." He's talking about the importance of having passion for performing the task itself, not just the subject or mission of the work. Some people are lucky and are exposed to "their thing" early-on in life. I'm thinking of the novelist who has always needed to write, the pro-golfer who has loved it since she was 7, and the teacher who feels true joy every time he steps into his classroom.

But what if you can't yet name your mission-specific nor a task-specific passion? Are you doomed to a passion-less life? Here's my take: Everyone has multiple tasks and missions they could be passionate about. They may just not have found (or noticed!) them yet. Yep, I said it. Everyone.

I've found a few common traps that get in the way of people finding passion in their work. (I may or may not have fallen victim to every damned one of them):

Lack of exposure to options - Many of us grow up only being exposed to a handful of possible careers: teacher, doctor, store clerk, astronaut, professional baseball player, president. And so we look at the list at the wise old age of 18 and "pick one." There's no "Career Sampling 101" class in college to see all the different ways people can make money doing something that puts them in a state of flow, so we limit ourselves to what's possible. (Side note: I should totally invent that class.)

Too Many Distractions - There are so many possible activities and interests one can pursue, it's easy to hit a stumbling block and flit off to the next thing without really digging in and gaining the skills that would uncover a hidden passion. And don't even get me started on how much our stupid little phones distract us from actually focusing long enough to learn a skill in the first place.

Lack of Mindfulness - Ah, flow. That glorious state where the ideas keep coming like mad and the time just flies by. I suspect that there are a lot of people who only get to do the thing they're (unknowingly) passionate about in short little bursts and may not even notice how much the activity energizes them.

Dismissal of Passions - The examples I gave of the novelist, the golfer and the zookeeper are all so concrete that it's easy for people to identify them as passions that tie directly to specific careers. But there are so many other completely random tasks one might be passionate about that point to less-obvious connections in the workplace. Maybe you get a kick out of organizing your kitchen cabinets, maintaining your bike, or introducing people to one another. While you may not want to be a professional organizer, bike mechanic or matchmaker, those "loves" are indications of underlying passions. Just because it seems simple, silly, or doesn't fit into a typical "job box" doesn't mean it's not a passion that could be turned into a career.

Fear of Trying New Things - If you limit yourself to only the things you've already tried and mastered, you'll likely not uncover new passions. On the other hand, if you're constantly learning and trying new (and scary!) things, you'll also learn new and fascinating things about yourself. Each little thread of knowledge will lead you to another and you'll be amazed at how much there is out there to learn and be passionate about.

So what to do if you can't name your passion yet? Here are a few ideas for uncovering the passions within you that are just waiting to be noticed:

1. For 3 days (or longer, if you can stand it!), use your phone to set 10 alarms to go off at random times throughout the day. Each time one goes off, jot down what you're doing and how you felt. Was the task energizing or draining? It's likely you'll uncover some hidden pockets of passion that could be deepened and expanded upon.
2. Read non-fiction books that interest you every single day. Overdrive is an amazing app for accessing FREE audio books which can be listened to during your commute, while doing household chores, or even getting ready in the morning. The more you learn about the world, the more likely you will be to find your passion.
3. Meditate daily. When you practice becoming more mindful, you'll have a better chance of noticing when you're in a state of flow in everyday life, which is a great indication of an underlying passion.
4. Take the Strengthsfinder 2.0 test. It will help you uncover some of your strongest talents. Now, talent doesn't always equal passion, but you might just identify some areas to explore that you hadn't thought of before.
5. Send an email to 5-10 people who know you very well and ask them what they would suspect you're most passionate about? Where do you shine most? Seriously. Do it. It's shocking how much others can see things we are completely blind to.
6. When you think you've noticed a passion, describe it in words...NAME IT! Write it down on a list or a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Revisit it again and again. Try to prove it wrong. Try to prove it right. Giving it a name gives it clarity and boundaries and helps you to understand it better yourself.

It took me decades to notice and name my passions and I was initially a little mad about that. But I'm realizing that through the uncovering process I've learned so much that I wouldn't have if I'd have known my passions from the start. Plus, now I get to work on deepening my passions in an explicit and intentional way and it feels like a whole new exciting chapter. Instead of aimlessly searching for something that will bring me satisfaction, I get to work on becoming a ninja at "my thing." I'm so excited, I can't stand it.