Finding passion in a scattered world
Everyone says follow your passion and all kinds of wonderful will follow. But what do you do when you don’t know what your passion is? How do you begin to know yourself better than you do right now? The first difficulty is how you listen to yourself. We have something called intuition. It is a very quiet voice and we usually ignore it because we don’t hear it. Part of it is the way it is communicated. It is often rapid and doesn’t contain a lot of details.
There are three ways intuition can speak to us. Through our thoughts, feelings and our body When I say details I mean that often we mull over things, weigh pro and cons, chase it around a few times, these are thoughts. If the intuitive mind expresses itself it is terse. You may get one word “don’t” or “do.” And it is not supported by debate it is very simple. There is no reasoning taking place it is usually followed up by a feeling which is what we call a gut reaction.
I often here I don’t know why but it just feels right. It is an energetic push. When it is expressed physically it is a sensation in your body. Notice that all of these things are fleeting. So why should you trust it? It may not be as fleeting as you think. Descartes believed that intuition was an idea that had been in you conscious for some time and is surfacing to see if it can get your attention. If you are closed down from your intuition you need to find a way to begin listening again. People often find their way back through meditation, prayer or psychotherapy to learn how to hear that voice again.
We are often told to put away childish things but I suggest you unpack your toy chest again. What did you dream about when you were growing up? Back then you didn’t question yourself as much as you do now. Now I know some of you said astronaut and chances are you are not headed to Mars! But when you think about it why did you want it? What excited you jot that down. Look at the things you intuitivey valued.
Now use your adult brain to analyze it are there any careers that contain these things short of rocketing into space. Then do an “I Like” dump on a piece of paper. The criteria is simple I like ______ anything goes. Then look for patterns how some of them are similar. How are they similar group them and name that theme Create a new shorter list. What do you now know that you didn’t know before?
And finally friends and family get a say. Ask people what they think you are good at. It may feel embarrassing but most people are willing to be generous. You may be surprised how well people know you or at some of the things they see and you don’t. If you still need help I have a twelve week coaching program that can help you sift through this and reconnect you to your intuition. Call me for a free consultation at (646)-770-1603. So dream on!