Finding Your Passion

While speaking at a women’s leadership conference last week, the most frequent comment I heard from participants was “I haven’t yet found my Passion.” This conference attracted 860 different women, from all kinds of companies and professions, yet the refrain was the same. Women in their 20’s to women in their 60’s, these accomplished individuals were all searching for something that would give their lives and work meaning–that elusive thing called Passion.

Funny thing was though, as I explored what they meant by finding a passion, most of the women responded in a way that led me to believe that they thought passion was a ‘thing’– like a passion for tennis, or a passion for shoes, or a passion for food. They had it all wrong! Here’s the BIG SECRET: they already had a passion. What they didn’t have until we talked about it was a language to describe their passion, a way of codifying their birthright.

Passion is not an object or an activity. Passion is the type and quality of energy that you most prefer to exhibit. You’re born with it, so the search needs to start within, not in the outside world. In fact, it’s really less of a search and more of an awakening, an igniting of the potential already present in each of us.

The kind of passion energy that I am referring to shows up in ways that would prompt us to describe someone as a Builder, Healer, Transformer, Teacher, Connector, Creator, Conceiver, Processor, Discoverer, or Altruist. These are the ten archetypes of passion that might resonate with everyone. The good news is that each of us possesses several of these unique and wonderful passions. Understanding which ones are yours will allow you to not only do great work in the world, but to feel fulfilled in the process of doing it. And, since we spend more than 84,000 hours of our lives at work, it only makes sense that those moments be fueled by our passions.

So the next time you’re “looking for a passion,” or want to feel more passionate about your work and your life, look within. Ask yourself, “What is the purest, most positive energy I can bring to this situation? What is the energy that provides me with the greatest sense of meaning and fulfillment?

You don’t need to find your passions, just claim them. And then get busy expressing those passions authentically. Watch the positive results unfold as you enjoy the journey of living your truth.

Be well,

Alaina Love (Builder/Transformer/Healer)

Alaina Love, President of Purpose Linked Consulting (PLC) is an internationally recognized leadership development consultant and speaker. She is co-author of The Purpose Linked Organization: How Passionate Leaders Inspire Winning Teams and Great Results (McGraw-Hill, 2009) http://amzn.to/ijBJaX 

The book identifies and explores the impact of the ‘Passion Archetypes’ of great leaders, provides a process for leaders to maximize the individual passions on their teams, and offers free access to The Passion Profiler™ online tool, where readers can discover their own passions and how to apply them to their roles at work.

To find out more about Alaina’s work, check out www.thepurposelink.com