Passion! We live during a time when the saying ‘Nothing new under the sun’ rings very true. Finding your passion… Is this still even a thing? Do people still lead with passion? Or is passion overrated? Is it just another buzzword?
How much has already been written about this? A lot right? How many ‘Finding your passion’ tests are out there? A lot right? How many have you taken? How many books do you have that talk about ‘Finding your passion’? I don’t have a lot of books on this, actually I have none (My dad’s John Maxwell book that talks about Talent doesn’t count as mine), but I have read a lot of books and blog posts about it. Thought about getting a coach to help me ‘find my passion’ at one point.
Sometimes I wonder how much information out there is a scam! I have done a couple of passion finding surveys and I have come out even more confused. Probably because all these passion finders are written by people who come from a point of privilege…. there l, I said it. Privilege really does make you see everything through rose coloured glasses. Even the help you give will be from your point.
While some of these ‘passion finders’ are good and helpful, the bulk are not. Even the articles on ‘Finding your passion’ are regurgitated to be honest… there is nothing new under the sun.
The bible talks about talents. The parable of the talents. Go read it in Matthew 25:14–30. I have read it and spoken about it so many times when I was younger than I am now (ps. I am not in denial about how young I am right now). Well, you might say I am reaching, but hear me out! The servants were given talents, everyone according to his ability. The others ‘joyfully’ went out to do what they do best and it paid off, their talents grew. The other one however did nothing, no, he went and buried his talent. He buried his passion and did nothing! Therefore… it didn’t grow! He probably buried it and then went around looking for ways to make more, looking for passion while he had buried his passion! It is easier than you think to be like this guy, to bury your passion and look for another passion! To bury your talent and look for another talent!
I must admit, I lost focus and started thinking that my God given talents were not good enough for the world, and I buried them and started looking. Which was my first mistake. Because I spent so many years searching for something that was never lost. My talents have always been there, wanting to be like someone else, wanting to do what someone else is doing, is what makes us think they are lost and need to be found. Trying to mould ourselves to be like someone else is what got us thinking that our talents were not good enough and that we needed new talents.
Are you looking for your passion?
At what point did you realize you were ‘passion less’?
Did you see someone doing something fun and thought ‘hmm, I want to do something fun as well’
Deep down, we all know what we love, we know what makes us happy. There are reasons why in our adult life that we think we need different passions, passions that are cool and passions that make us money. Because we need to be cool, hang out with cool people while making crazy money from our passions.
To truly find yourself and your passion, quiet the world outside. All of it, not a small portion or just the parts you don’t like. Strip yourself of all worldly attachments and go back to what you love doing, go back to what you love to do when you are in your safe place, where no one judges you or tries to change you. When you come back to the world, continue doing that.
You have not lost your passion, you just started looking for a passion that was not yours. Stop looking for your passion, it is not lost, it is inside you waiting to be used. Go back to your God given passion.