Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS | Learn How to Subscribe
We all dream of following our passions, but as I mentioned in episode 20, very few of us end up going out there to live the life we dream of. This week’s episode is about being brave enough to follow your passions, whether that’s in your current professional role, or one you have yet to make a reality.
To jumpstart the process, here are a few questions to ask yourself.
What is Your Vision?
If you don’t have a vision for your passion, how are you going to know if you achieve it? In this week’s Self-Help Crash Test Dummy Experiment, I created a Vision Board on Pinterest to see if that helped me understand my passions and how I could achieve them. Some of the topics on my board included mindfulness (like back in episode 7 bonus track), yoga, travel, and entrepreneurship.
I’d love to see your vision board, if you have one! You can connect with me on Pinterest, or use #TheArtofPersonalGrowthPodcast on Pinterest when you pin.
What Excuses Are You Making?
This week’s featured TED Talk is “Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career,” by Larry Smith. In his talk, he’s very honest about why most people will fail to find the success they want in the area they are most passionate about: we make lots of excuses. Everything from friends, family, and your social life to your location or resources – Smith says we are all very creative when inventing reasons that prevent us from success.
Ask yourself what is standing in your way, and whether or not you are letting that reason become an excuse. If you really want to succeed, you may have to rearrange your priorities.
What Are You Willing to Suffer For?
I recently heard a great quote from Elizabeth Gilbert about how passion isn’t just about bliss – it’s about what you’re willing to suffer for (if you haven’t read her new book, Big Magic, I highly recommend it!). Too often we think that following our passions will cause the stars to align and the road to become smooth and easy to walk. This is rarely the case; life always throws us curves and detours, and even some potholes.
What’s more important in pursuing our passion is the willingness to endure these curves, detours, and potholes. When you can persevere and even appreciate the suffering, you know you’re on the path to successfully following your passion.
Are You Going to Finish That?
Gilbert also talks about a post by Mark Manson, 7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life Purpose. If you’ve never read it, again, it’s a great piece to spend a few minutes on. In it, Manson says we should ask ourselves “what’s your favorite flavor of shit sandwich?” Too often, as above, we think that following our passions will be roses and caviar; in reality it often means eating a few shit sandwiches, so finding the flavor you can most endure is crucial.
Additionally, remember that sometimes you may face a shit sandwich that you don’t want to eat. This might be a sign that you’re not following your passion. However, if like Gilbert you find yourself eyeballing other people’s unfinished sandwiches, you are definitely in the right place to pursue your passion! (Okay, enough about gross sandwiches, eh?)
How Can You Make Everyday Count, even Mondays?
Even though following our passions is an over-arching life goal, our lives are made up of individual days. No matter how hard you are working to follow your passion, Mondays might still be tough for you, and that’s okay (keep suffering for it!). There are some tips and tricks to make Mondays better, which I shared in this week’s episode, and you can find in “How can you make Mondays better? Do these 6 things on Friday.”
Taking these tips into account, you can make each Monday (and the rest of the week) more focused on following your passion and enjoying the ride, no matter the excuses, potholes, or shit sandwiches along the way.
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks for joining me this week. I’d love to hear your thoughts, please leave an honest review for The Art of Personal Growth podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are super helpful to tailoring the content of the show and I read them all! They also matter in the rankings of the show.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on the social media! This week’s hashtag is #TAoPGP22.
