Find Your Passion, Find Yourself!

Everyone needs to understand themselves and I mean, really understand themselves. We often think we do know ‘me’, but the reality for many of us is that we neither bother to explore ourselves, think it is a waste of time or worse still, believe there is no real benefit to discovering what makes us tick. Often it will take a major ‘incident’ or crisis before we start to examine who and what we are. The ancients Greeks got it right – there, still standing after nearly 3000 years in Apollo’s temple at Delphi, is the carved statement at the entrance stating for all to see just two words ‘gnōthi seautón’ ‘know thyself’.
 
Deep down is where our true nature arises. It is a quest to get there; it can also be an experience if we allow it. The more we go down, the more transparent we can be as well more ‘real’ to ourselves. Once we restore touch with our real self, in some cases called our inner guide, then we can begin to visualise how we are now and what we need from this point on. When we reach that point, we do not just endure, we are ‘released’ and we thrive.
 
Digging down as deep as we can go to ask the questions of ourselves is more than simply skimming the surface. Our society would lead us to think that peeling back the surface area levels like an onion, is all that is needed in order to comprehend our own selves and also to get over challenges/negative experiences from the past. Of course, this is not real and I presume that you currently recognize this. Like the iceberg, there is much below the surface…
 
To thrive, we need to be completely honest with ourselves. We require the nerve to to recognize and own our errors, welcome honest feedback, as well as honour our strengths so we can explore exactly what is meaningful in our lives. If we do not then we just enable the obstacles we encounter in life to become overwhelming. Once we have the courage to seek who we are and what genuinely fulfills us, then we are establishing a strong mind, body and soul connection.
 
These attributes are the birthplace of a fulfilling life and the passion that goes with it. We are all called to navigate unpredictability, sometimes danger as well as the unforeseeable. What is being described today as 'mental strength' enables us bring into play our self-confidence so we can confidently move onward when confronted with obstacles that attempt to stop or slow us down.
 
Once you find your passion, you will find your purpose. Here are 5 recommendations on how to connect with your passion so you can thrive:
 

1. Connect – find some time to connect to yourself – meditate, go for a walk, listen to soft music, whatever you need to do to spend time just for you. Then in reflection, look inwards at yourself and ask the question – ‘what do I really want?’ The answers are all there, you just need to ask…
2. Yearn – Finding passion is an essential ingredient to loving life. You need to really want it, recognize it and then go get it! Passion is something you drive for, not just a little bit, but lots!
3. Be aware – It is a big mistake to think that you have only got one passion and that it must be the one to guide you. Recognize that you have a portfolio of passions and that they are all important. Life is not boring! It’s full of variety and it is natural that different ones bubble to the surface at different times during your life journey.
4. Commit – Stop dithering and say ‘no’ to complacency. The ‘easy’ path is not necessarily the best one although sometimes it might be. As long as it is the right path for you. Move away from distractions. To thrive, commit to your passion and say ‘no’ to negativity and distraction.
5. Begin – Say to yourself – ‘if life is not an adventure then it must be boring’. So be curious, be adventurous, and most of all, be happy! If you do not start living with purpose and passion now, then you are on the ‘redundant life path’, postponing life until retirement. At that point it may be difficult to do all those things you kept promising yourself.

 
Digging down to expose our true nature can be hard work, but it’s worth the effort. You can achieve whatever you want in life, the biggest achievement however, is knowing yourself.