Dare to Decide

 The other day, I was talking with one of my Business Support Coaches – (I invented this title) –about how busy, busy, busy I was with projects and enthusiasms and passions, and I said to her:

 “This is a miracle! I used to be a bored, discouraged Middle Manager in a government organization who was yearning for something – who had no passions to speak of - aching to be one of those people with passion.  I used to wish that I could LOVE what I did or that I had a passionate all consuming hobby.  I was afraid that being passionate about something wasn’t in the cards for me.”

She was shocked.  She couldn’t imagine me being a bored public servant.  Honestly it was a long time ago, 25 years ago – but I never forget. It feels like it was yesterday.

Now, a flame is burning inside me.

What’s the one thing that I did to make that transformation?

I dared to decide.

I remember having a conversation with God.  I’m not religious but I do believe that there is a universal force of goodness that I’ve always written to, through journaling and spoken and prayed to, in my heart.  My conversation went something like this –

“I can’t be the only person in the world who doesn’t have a passion, doesn’t have something that they were made to do? Can I?” 

I didn’t get a voice in my head as an answer, but I had a knowing.  The knowing was this: Of course you have a passion. Decide that you’re going to find that – no matter what.

I took all the aching and yearning that I felt and I dared to decide that I WAS going to find my passion, something I loved, and do it.  I felt like I’d die if I didn’t.  I was suffering on the inside – while looking happy on the outside.

Deciding was the most critical step in my transformation.

People always want steps.

Daring to decide is the step.

Yearning and agony and aching are the pre-requisite.  You don’t get passion and it’s buddy, purpose, without it.

Yearning, aching, passion and purpose are all intertwined.

Dare to Decide.

Because you have a choice.

You can continue with your soul-sucking job, buying more stuff that you have to keep working harder to pay for.  You can decide to have a “good-enough” job and have a passion on the side.  Or you can do what I did – decide that you want what you do for work to be your passion and your purpose.

My passion was already inside me, but I couldn’t see it back then. Yours is too.  You need to dive deep inside and excavate the passions and longings that are hiding inside you.

I’m passionate about helping people to get lit up, to light their inner flame, to see what is AMAZING about who they are and to help them to SEE that and BE that and RISE up and DO that.

And this is also my gift!  I’m overwhelmed with gratitude about that.

Guess what?

What you’re passionate about is what you’re gifted at!

Sometimes it takes a little tweaking to match up your passions and your gifts....but you can!

That’s a little God wink.  You get to be gifted at what you love doing.  Isn’t that amazing?  Why would you be surprised?  Have you seen the magical organization of the natural world?

 Oh man Universe.  You totally rock.

So I want to tell you.

If you really WANT to have a passion and think that you aren’t passionate about anything, that’s not true. You just haven’t discovered your passions yet.

You don’t need to find a “thing” that’s your passion – like rock-climbing or bird-watching or stained glass or writing poetry.  That was my mistake – looking outside of me for a “thing”.

Your passion might be healing or guiding or teaching people. Your passion might be steeped in your incessant curiosity about what makes people tick. 

Curiosity is a clue.

My desire for everyone is that they see and claim their beauty and their worth.

That’s my passion.

That’s my art.

And when I’m doing that, my life makes sense.

I can’t imagine myself retiring from that.

When you create work that you love, that you’re passionate about and that gives you meaning, you’ve become an Artist.

 Artists don’t retire.

I don’t intend to either.