I joined a webinar (an online seminar) recently presented by Leigh St John, author of Achievement Alchemist – Discovering Your Passion. Leigh started off the webinar with this quote from Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is my light, not my darkness that most frightens me.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who am I not to be?…
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you…
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Given that I have this same quote in my little black book of quotes I knew that I was going to enjoy hearing more from Leigh.
We discussed questions about how we could discover our passions in life.
The first question was the most obvious but one that I think we often forget to ask, “What is passion?” I had always thought it was something I would be excited to be doing, something that I was fired up about. As I’ve learnt more about myself I realised that true passion can be recognised in those moments when the world around you slows and disappears and you are totally immersed in what you are doing; a feeling of contentment envelops you. For me, that is true passion. What does passion mean to you?
To reconnect with your passions Leigh suggests watching your reactions over the coming days; What is the essence of what you are feeling? Who are you talking to? What are you talking about? Look for themes in your reactions.
The next big question was “Who are you?” Not easily answered on one webinar! We focused on what our perception of ourselves, both negative and positive, were from a physical, emotional, financial and spiritual point of view.
We also discussed what are our values are. This is a list of some of the most common values:
- Compassion
- Communication
- Creativity
- Integrity
- Independence
- Respect
- Authority
- Innovation
- Peace
- Freedom
It doesn’t actually matter what your values are and whether they are different from the people that are closest to you. The important point is to recognise them. Your values are important as when you are working out where your passion(s) lie, your passion(s) must align to your values or you will come quickly unstuck. Unsurprisingly, Freedom is high on my list of values.
Another aspect of knowing yourself is identifying your personality traits. Some of the most common traits are:
- Honesty
- Enthusiasm
- Adaptability
- Self-Reliance
- Dedication
- Perfectionism
- Decisiveness
- Calmness
- Reserved
- Practical
- Problem Solving
Again, when it comes time to work out your passion(s), remember your passion(s) will the ones that allow you to make full and open use of your authentic personality.
Leigh then asked “Are you a Yebbit?”, “A what?!” I was thinking. Leigh expanded and explained that this can be people’s negative reaction when beginning to explore their passions; “Yeh But I don’t have the time to do that” or “Yeh But that would involve a lot of money”.
I used to be a Yebbit and, at times, that side of me does clamor for attention. Originally it was a direct reaction to being afraid of what my next career step was going to be. I knew that I didn’t want to be a lawyer forever but I couldn’t figure out what I was going to do next so I had the classic reply of “Yeh But I don’t know what else I can or want to do”. The effect of that reply was to shut down my mind rather than opening it up to new possibilities. It took me some time to realise I didn’t need to have the perfect career in place before I left the legal field, rather I just needed to get moving! Have you ever been a Yebbit?
This quote that Leigh shared summed up this section:
“To be always intending to make a new and better life but never to find time to set about it is as to put off eating and drinking and sleeping from one day until the next until you’re dead.“ Og Mandino
We also discussed how a fear of success can hold people back, how it is important to have a big enough driver to sustain your motivation and how your beliefs about yourself and the world could be holding you back.
I’d like to leave you with a quote from Anais Nin:
“There came a time that the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Have you discovered your passion in life or have you started the journey to find it? I’d love to hear from you.
