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Find your passion for successful life

passion

Many passions last for life. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Passion is an intense desire or enthusiasm for something. It goes without saying that a person who has found his/her life calling will be more contented and have the likelihood of greater emotional and financial satisfaction. They will also be less conflicted in their daily occupation.

In career, passion may be used to denote to that job that a person would love to do. It offers emotional satisfaction to be doing that work. It follows then that in making a career choice it is important to opt for work that one likes and not choose the detested one.

If passion is so important in life and work it is worth spending time and possibly resources to find out what one’s true passion is and then doing it. Dr Susan Biali, an American doctor who gave up medicine to pursue coaching and flamenco dancing gives ways to discover one’s passion:

. Inventory: Take an inventory of your talents. You do not have to have mastery of your talent or even have full knowledge of it.

.. Emotions: Take an inventory of what makes you annoyed or jealous when other people do it and enjoy it or succeed in it.

Childhood: What did you love to do as a child?

. Engrossed: Notice when you lose track of time or what you hate to stop doing.

. Fun: See your passion hunt as a fun, joyful adventure. Self-aware people are often able to relate their personality, interest and abilities in determining their passion career so that passion is not merely a whim.

Today we shall look at some general pointers to passion as a guide in career:

Awareness:

Think of a potential musician who has never seen a piano. A child who has never seen an airplane would never dream of becoming a pilot. Passion is often based on what one is aware of. Simple awareness kindles interest which may become a passion. It is important for people get to know what is ‘out there’.

.Exposure:

Beyond awareness, practical exposure is important. Exposing children early to different activities, skills and hobbies is important. Some examples are music, art, photography, sports, writing, languages, farming and cooking. It is also important to read and travel widely and meet people of diverse backgrounds and talents.

Age should be no limit. Silas Yego who held the Olympic record for javelin learnt entirely from YouTube, as a grown up, baffling javelin throwers and sports coaches worldwide. .

Delayed gratification:

Success in the future is the product of self-denial, hard work, pain and inconvenience today. Anyone who wants to build wealth, knowledge or skill has to sacrifice now for the better future.

Mastery and discipline: It has been said that developing fine mastery of any skill requires practice for at least 10,000 hours. This is good news for working people; in three and a half years, you can develop mastery.

For those who do it as a hobby spending two hours daily that makes it thirteen and a half years. Does that sound long? Remember that the years of learning, practicing are times of great enjoyment.

Lifelong: Many passions last for life. A child who learn a skill will have many decades to enjoy its benefits. Similarly, a person who learns to play piano or paint in his forties will have another four decades of enjoyment if he lives to his eighties. Investment in the things we enjoy pays many times over.

Scan and Review: We are constantly changing, as is our world. We change with age, exposure, knowledge and status, or sometimes get bored with repetition. A young person who enjoys bike racing today may find the sport less enjoyable in later years.

However, his competitive streak might find a home in other similarly intense activities. Many people in the 1990s discovered totally new interests in technology as computers became affordable and commonplace.

They may now discover passion in coding or drone technology. As the world around us changes and we move from place to place, we explore new interests, hobbies and passion.

Many people view discovery of passion in the context of paid career only. It is obviously helpful to cultivate enjoyment in one’s work.

However, there is a second avenue to discover and excel in one’s passion: hobbies. Through trying different ones, a person may discover some that are truly enjoyed.

I know a successful accountant who enjoys developing property. Over the years his love for accountancy has waned and his love for building increased. Now building houses is his hobby and accounting generates money to build.

Eventually, his houses will give enough income and building become a self-financing hobby. Accountancy will be history. By trying out a hobby, he has truly discovered his true passion!

The writer is Psychologist, Coach and Organisational Consultant.