3 Simple Tools to Help You Uncover Your Passion Over Your Lunch Break!
I was lucky because I always knew exactly what I wanted to be, it just took me a very long time to find the courage to get there. My challenge was pushing through all the inner critic, self-sabotaging patterns to allow myself to start creating the life I wanted.
However, if you are someone who has the drive to do something new and exciting but you don’t know what that is yet, here are 3 tools to help you uncover what that might be. You can get these done on your lunch break TODAY!
BEFORE YOU START: There is only one rule to keep in mind when you are working through these tools: Allow yourself to answer the questions without judgment! I.e do not stop half-way through the exercise and think “well I can’t make money doing that” or “I’m too old to start that now”. The point of this post is to uncover your passion. You don’t need to worry about how you will make money out of it just yet!
Okay, time to get started now!
1. Use Jealousy As a Compass to Point You In The Right Direction
To me, jealousy is the most effective indicator of what we want to do next but are afraid to pursue. When I find myself feeling jealousy towards someone, I try and get down to the main reason of why I feel this way. It’s a technique I learnt from the author Julia Cameron. Am I jealous because this person is further along in their music career than I am? If so, this tells me that I want to achieve what they have achieved and so I will need to re-adjust my plan to include some new goals. Am I jealous of the way this person looks? If so then this tells me that I want to make more time to take care of my wellbeing (eat well, sleep enough hours, exercise, stop wearing my workout gear all day, get a haircut, you know basic stuff that we shove to the bottom of the pile when we are busy). This might sound trivial but you can apply the same concept to bigger life decisions. Before I started actively pursuing my music, I was so critical of other artists “This person can’t sing”, “This person is a one hit wonder”, “I hate this song”. Looking back I now know that I felt that way because I wanted to do what they had found the courage to do. I wanted to work as hard as they did to achieve what they have achieved. I criticized the people I wanted to be to make myself feel better. Now that I am actively doing what I’ve always wanted to do I find myself encouraging others who are pursuing the same things as me because as long as I keep doing my thing there will be space for all of us to succeed in this game!
TRY THIS EXERCISE.
PEEL THE ONION
Take a piece of paper and go somewhere private where you can be free to write what you want without fearing that people can peek over your shoulder! Reflect on your jealousy (both professional and personal). Try and understand why you feel the way you do about certain people. You really have to be confrontational with yourself and “peel the onion” one layer at a time to uncover what’s lying at the center. Don’t censor yourself in the process. What did you find? Are you jealous that others don’t work as hard as you do? That might tell you that you actually want to slow down and make a change. Are you jealous of someone’s photography skills? That might tell you it’s time to get a camera and start learning. Are you jealous of someone’s recent success? What did they succeed in? is it something you want? Try to turn the green monster into your friend and it will help guide you in the right direction to uncovering the things you want.
I am a musician and a creativity blogger who is making the transition from sciences to music, one song at a time! Sign up for weekly tips on how to get started with your creative Pursuit www.yasaminmusic.com
