Some students recently asked me about whether I enjoyed my work.
I love my work!
As I thought about this, I started to wonder what made my work great and satisfying. After all, there are so many people I know who do not enjoy their work at all, or want to leave their jobs because it’s drab work or the culture/boss/colleagues of the organization weren’t as expected.
The world isn’t drab. It’s beautiful in many ways. The world becomes drab when we look through drab psychological lenses. I’m like an optometrist – I open up your psychological (in)sight so that you have the capacity to do more.
I strongly believe that the first step to understanding your passion is to become skilled in one area. The first dilemma you will face is, of course, “what kind of skill”. There’s a gazilion skills out there! Yet, when you stop and think about what you enjoy, particularly if there are opportunities to challenge your skill level, there’s a prety good answer there.
Think of computer games, for example. Many gamers are drawn by the challenge and excitement. The more you play, the better you get. The better you get the greater the sense of satisfaction upon completing each stage of the game. Eventually it can really get addictive.
Whether it is singing, drawing, dancing, writing, or, speaking, entertaining, marketing, leading, socializing… each of these are skills you can develop. As you take a look at the world forward, I encourage you to learn the skills that have to do with interpersonal contact. As long as you work in a career next time, you will be with people. So why not build that muscle now? Eventually, you want to be multi-talented by putting in an effort to keep on learning.
The more you know, the more it will connect with you as a person — and that’s what I find eventually brings you back to the question of *who you are*. You see, people can speak or dance or write but they will always do it for different reasons. Personally, I speak because I know that after a session, there will be a renewed energy in my participants. I literally live for that! It’s that magical feeling when you know you have helped someone discover something about themselves and transform their experience of the world.
So…What is passion really about?
It’s about the connection with the thing that you do skillfully such that you and that thing you do become one and the same. Time disappears and you go into the flow. After you’re done, you chase perfection in that flow, benefiting others from your state of peak performance, and gaining immense satisfaction after that.
Stuart Tan, MBA, SDCG, BA (Hons), is a Licensed NLP Trainer since 1997, a trained counselor and therapist since 1999, and a leadership, team performance and change management consultant. He certifies NLP Practitioners and Master Practitioners through a competency based approach. He is also an executive coach and life coach.
Contact him for information about his corporate seminars, certification workshops and coaching services.