The What: Passion, Purpose, & Pursuit
We left off learning about my story to give a little insight into where it is that we’re going this week.
If you didn’t read the first part of this series of passion and purpose now would be a good time to go check out that out first.
This week, we’re going to continue this deep dive focusing on the “what”.
What is passion? What is purpose? What is the pursuit of them?
Understanding the what will help with ultimately understanding the why.
The “what” is the foundation ... It’s the groundwork that will lead to the “why”.
Let’s Talk Passion
Now, I know you’re here for the purpose talk. But, passion and purpose intersect and often in searching for purpose, passion is an important place to start.
Why? Because your passions are the things that you love to do in life and tend to find yourself naturally drawn to doing.
So, what is passion?
Passion is something that you have a strong liking or desire for, it’s an object of your love, like, or your desire.
It can sometimes be hard to truly define passion, but you know it when you see it or feel it. Passion is the thing, or things, that you can easily lose yourself in because it gives you so much energy and joy.
When it comes to your passions you often will go all in, no matter the obstacles that you may face, you strive to overcome them..
No no no … Scrolling social media doesn’t count here as a passion, just because you can easily spend hours there without trying. Because is social media something that you’re really focusing on? Or are you just stuck in the scroll?!?
Oh … I thought so. Now, let’s get back focused here ...
Your passions are the things that you just feel drawn to. They’re the things that inspire you, that get you all riled up, the things that when you talk about you just light up. It’s where your personality really comes out and is often the thing that you can do and talk about all day long without really getting tired.
So think about it … What is it that you’re passionate about?
In searching for your purpose, passion is an important place to start, I mean you have to start somewhere. You aren’t sure of your purpose, so we start slow … That's why we’re starting with passion.
Let’s Talk Purpose
Oh yea, the reason that you’ve gathered here today … To talk purpose. Starting with passion helps you to understand that purpose is different from passion.
What is purpose?
Purpose is the intention or objective behind doing something. Basically, it’s the reason for doing something, you know, that “why”.
Purpose is about living a life that’s in alignment with who you truly are. You’re doing what you came here to do … That’s what purpose is about.
Intuitively speaking, we know what we’re “made for” … It's in our instincts … We can feel it. It's that inner nudge and pull towards what we love, do naturally, and sometimes are even passionate about.
Look at your life. A lot of what you do in life is sometimes because you feel that you should do it, not because it’s a fit for who you really are.
This is why one of my favorite questions to ask is why. Why are you doing this? Why did you do it? Why do you want to do it? Why do you think you should do it? Why do you have to do it?
Why is the big question that can make sure that you’re doing it for you. Because when you make decisions that allow you to be authentically you, and that are based on what and who you really are, you’ll be happier, more successful, and more satisfied in life.
What’s the Difference?!?
We’ve talked passion and we’ve talked purpose. Do you get the difference between the two? You might be one of those people who use the words interchangeably and think that they are the same.
Passion is about the emotions, the motivation, and what makes you feel good. You can be multi-passionate. Your passions can be different and much more diverse.
In comparison, purpose is the reason, or the why, behind what you do and why you exist. Your purpose is more focused.
So, just because you're passionate about something doesn’t mean that that’s your purpose in life.
The Pursuit
You understand your passion. You understand your purpose. You understand the difference between the two.
It’s time to go after them! We’ve laid some groundwork and got a little foundation to work with. So, are you ready to pursue this?
What is the pursuit?
Pursuit is the act of following or going after someone or something. The pursuit is about the chase and the pursuit.
So when I say pursuit of passion and the pursuit of purpose, what comes to mind?
This is the conscious work to go after them, it’s getting it done!
In the pursuit, and in the chase, you have to do the actual work of going it. In this instance, we’re talking about going after passion and purpose, but pursuit can be the pursuit of anything. Think of the movie the pursuit of happiness … That was about going after happiness in life, same concept, but now we’re focused specifically on passion and purpose.
What is the pursuit of passion?
Passion isn’t not something that you have or find, but it’s something that you developed.
When looking at things that you think you’re passionate about, or that you’re actually passionate about, you know you’re going to have to do some self discovery and self reflection.
Understand this, passion often develops accidently. It starts out with curiosity and an interest in something. But, once you have an interest in something, you have to keep seeking it and looking into it, or the interest will fade. You have to do the work to develop that interest further.
So, how can you continue to develop an interest to see if you’re truly passionate about it or not? Easy, you need to keep exposing yourself to it. The continued exposure to it will help you to see if this is something that you want to work on.
Because, keep in mind that in the beginning, you might not be good at the thing that you’re interested in! Think about it … The first time that you do something, you’re probably not going to be good at it, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to try to get good at it!
So basically, you need to open yourself up to some trial and error. To try new things and be ok with not liking them or wanting to stick with them. If you aren’t willing to do the work to find out what it is that interests you and that you’re passionate about, how in the world are you expecting to really embrace your purpose?
Understanding your passions will ultimately help you to understand your purpose. And this is why the pursuit of passion is important … Because you’re ultimately here to get to your purpose.
Passion will get you started and purpose is what will keep you going.
What is the pursuit of purpose?
Purpose amplifies passion. When your passion is directed towards a higher level of meaning and fulfillment, then a higher purpose can be achieved.
Purpose is that feeling, that conviction, that what you’re doing matters! It matters because it’s connected to others … If you don’t do your part, then other people will suffer as a result. Now, I’m not being extreme here and saying that it will be a true physical suffering, but what I’m saying is that your purpose is connected to others.
Yes, there are others that do what you do … But, they aren’t you! Your failure to do your part will impact others in their ability to do their part.
Well Well Well … Would you Look at That!
You’re well on your way to living your best life! A life that is full of passion, purpose, and the pursuit of the two. Don’t forget to take the time to do some self discovery and self exploration if you really want to get the benefit of this. And, remember to save the date: September 11, 2021 … That’s going to be the time for a deeper dive into all of this.
Whew … this blog series has been fun! But, it’s also been hard to stop the words … Which is why it turned into a series.
And … I’m thinking of something else for this … But, more on that to come next week.
Speaking of next week, I’m going to attempt to put this all together into a semi cohesive bow.
If there’s any questions that this series has brought up for you, drop them below or message me and let me know!
-Coach Lee
Your Productivity & Accountability Coach