WHAT IS YOUR "PASSION"?

Finding your authentic self is what finding your "Passion" should be all about

THE "PASSION" HOOPLA

I sometimes feel like I am a voice crying in the wilderness when it comes to all the hoopla about "finding your Passion" and "pursuing your Passion" and about your life being incomplete unless you have found "your one true Passion". I've written about it here and here - feel free to take a look if you are struggling with this idea too. But I had a change of heart recently when I read the quote below because I liked the spin it put on what Passion may actually be.

finding your passion is about finding your authentic self that you've buried beneath other people's needs

TRY CHANGING YOUR FOCUS

What if your Passion was actually not about finding a "thing", but rather it was about finding yourself? What if you discover who you truly are and that ignites something within you that wants to know more and discover more. Something that looks like the real you and not the person you have become because you've been trying to please everybody else?

I get tired of people claiming that a hobby or a career is their "Passion", it is so narrow and so dry and materialistic. No matter how much money you have, or how many toys you own, if you haven't looked inside yourself and found out what really makes you tick, then you've missed the point. When you know what makes your heart beat faster and who the honest and authentic "you" is then you find so many things that engage you - too many to narrow down to just one little "thing".

WHEN YOU DISCOVER "YOU"

How can you not be passionate about life once you discover the person you are meant to be? How can you not want to engage with other people and bounce ideas off each other and get absorbed in what life has to offer? How can you not want to find out more? How can you settle for one aspect of life to be passionate about when there is so much more to what makes up the person you're becoming?

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

WHO YOU'RE BECOMING

Lets find out what engages our soul, who we are, and what our hearts hold dear. Lets strive for becoming the best person we are capable of being and then sharing that with others. Lets make genuine connections and be open to others. Lets find out who we are and become passionate advocates for others who are doing the same thing. It's not about what you have, it's about who you are becoming - that is real Passion.

Finding your authentic self is what finding your "Passion" should be all about

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24 comments

  1. Hi Leanne,
    My passion is blogging. I never seem to get enough time. The problem is that I'm a teacher, which I still love, and need to find time for that and sleep.
    Are you in the U.S.? If yes, Happy Thanksgiving.
    Janice

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    1. It's nice that you can name a "thing" as a passion Janice - I think I'm going to hold out for it being about discovering the parts of myself that really resonate with living this life I've been given. Blogging is part of that, but for me there is so much more.

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  2. Hi Leanne! What a wonderful perspective on passion. While I've never heard it presented in exactly this way it makes sense. What better passion than the journey of discovering who we really are at our deepest level of being. And how can that exploration be anything that a passionate adventure? Thanks for such a provocative post. ~Kathy

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    1. Thanks Kathy - I knew you'd get it because you have a similar way of looking at the world. It's all about delving deeper and loving the life we've been given, and then sharing it with others isn't it?

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  3. I had found my passion in pastry (decorating cakes, playing with chocolate and sugar) till life required me to move to the other side of the world and started over. I am in the process of finding something else I can be good at. It'll be something along the lines of creating something beautiful (since I am a very visual person). Like you describes above, this whole process (journey) is about finding our true selves --figuring out what engages our soul and becoming the next best version of ourselves.

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    1. Herlina your life is the perfect picture of this - moving forward and discovering new aspects of your life - finding new adventures and growing as a person. That is so much more than just having one little "thing" that you focus on and never discover all the other aspects you're capable of. I hope you keep growing with your move across the world.

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  4. Hi, Leanne - I agree that 'finding our passion' is truly about finding our true, authentic selves. I love that passions, and the route to these passions, are different for different people. Thank you for opening up this lens!

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    1. Spot on Donna - I'm so glad you "get" where I'm coming from! I think passion looks different to everyone and telling people that they need to take the same path as you is almost an insult. Let's celebrate our differences and learn from each other's journeys - which is kind of what blogging is all about isn't it?

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  5. Love this post Leanne, so much food for thought. Maybe for me passion is how I feel about the 'things' I enjoy like travel, gardening.... My passion energises me to take action.

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    1. I think that's the core of it - you need to find what "sets your heart alight" and pursue that - and often it's not just one "thing" but a combination of things that change as you grow.

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  6. I have so many things I'm passionate about.
    But I believe that we find our true selves when we lose ourselves in service. In helping and cheering and encouraging. I know in today's world, this is considered outdated, but it is what I find truly fulfilling. Not concentrating on myself to find me, but finding myself by serving others. I love it!

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    1. You're right Diane - so often it's about being selfish and investing ourselves into one "thing" and we miss out on so much don't we? When we open our lives up and start contributing our gifts and passions and sharing the love then it all starts to make sense.

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  7. I feel like I was born to write ... hopefully to encourage and inspire and inform others, no matter what form the writing takes. I was 30 when I realised writing was my "thing". Up until then I felt like I had no particular gifts, talents or purpose. I could always write, and always loved to write, but didn't realise that other people couldn't and didn't. Sometimes a gift is so obvious we take it for granted!

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    1. I think we begin to discover our gifts as we learn who we really are Janet. For a lot of us it's not just one thing - even with your writing, you have several different "loves" - SEO, fashion, family - it's about diversity and not locking ourselves into one narrow focus.

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  8. Hi Leanne, I don't have a passion at the moment and I'm happy with that. As you say it means different things to different people and at the moment I'm happy just spending time with my grandson, blogging and just living each day to the best of my ability. I know we are all supposed to have the great 'passion' but I rather like your idea about it not necessarily being a 'thing' but discovering 'self'. x

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    1. I think you have a diverse range of passions Sue - and you have developed your life around them. Family, blogging, marriage, travel - a very well rounded life :)

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  9. I spent many years searching for my passion and feeling a little jealous of those who seemed to have a natural passion--music, sports, or something else they could point to and say, "That specifically is my passion." I like this new spin on passion. This past year I've been focusing on living in the moment, and this definition of passion seems to fit better with that mindful living. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

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    1. I was a bit the same Christie, but then I came to see how trivial a lot of these "passions" were - surely a passion should expand your life and grow you as a person - not just entertain you for a few hours each week? That's why I think it's more about finding out who you are and what your purpose in life is.

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  10. Right now, sadly, my passion is creating a perfect 5.0 score on Design Home, a game that was introduced to me by a co-worker. It is doing nothing but frustrating me and keeping me from my other passion, blogging. Maybe I should distinguish the differences between addiction and passion, eh? Clearly, I must be getting something horribly wrong! If you don't mind, I am featuring your post on my own little link-up, #MyPostMonday. I tweet it out and Facebook it! Thanks so much!

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    1. I think there might be a slight difference between passion and addiction but maybe there's a link somewhere? :) Thanks for sharing my post on your link-up - I love the interaction of blogging!

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  11. Going to sound weird but my passion is to live life and enjoy life. Go outside the box and see what it out there.

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    1. I think that's the basis of what I'm getting at here - it's not about one finite thing that we tie ourselves to, it's about a diverse and authentic life - that has to bring happiness and fulfilment doesn't it?

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  12. Leanne, we will be featuring this popular post on Friday. Well done.
    Kathleen
    Blogger's Pit Stop

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  13. Love this post! My passion is blogging. It really makes me the happiest and doesn't even feel like a job most of the time.

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Thanks so much for your comment - it's where the connection begins.