The Passion Exercise
The following is an exercise to uncover and highlight your passions. Follow the steps outlined below. First, go to a quiet place, get fully relaxed and alone, then listen only to your inner voice, not to that of anyone else. Listen to what you know feels real today, not what you may want or wish things to be like in the future.
Step One
Look over the list of passions on the worksheet below, and if a word resonates with you, check the box next to it. Do not spend time pondering here; if it strikes you by any means, check the box. The passion exercise should utilize your intuition, as it is a reactive exercise, so if you feel an affinity for the word, check it. If you have a specific passion for a hobby, a subject, or an activity, please write it in a blank space. Space is provided for you to add any other love you feel you have that is not listed.
Step Two
Next, from those passions checked off in step one, revisit only the ones you checked and reduce them to your top ten. Some were obvious the first time you saw them, and some may have to be weighed against each other, but come up with your ten. Think of what you love, love doing, feel loved for, enjoy, and are enthusiastic about.
You may think that some mean almost the same thing, so in that case, choose the word that, in your opinion, best defines your passion for you. If you get down to the last few and are having difficulty, close your eyes and imagine two forces in front of you. You can reach and capture only one passion and bring it close to you; the other passion will be lost. Which one makes you love, smile, joyous, happy, and energetic? Use the space provided below to denote your top ten.
________________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
________________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
Step Three
Before you start on the third and final pass, ensure the voices in your head are your own. Remove the “shoulds,” “could,” and “musts” in your head. Trust your feelings and intuition. In this last phase, narrow your list even further by choosing from the top ten passions above and reducing them down to your top five. Let this be more of a feeling exercise than a thinking one. Your feelings resonate deep within you when you make a statement such as, “If I have to live without _______________ (fill in one of your passions), my life wouldn’t be as good. Use the same weighting method from step two if needed. Place your top five on the lines below.
________________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
Step Four
Now, look at the five words above. Just take a few moments and let these words “speak to you,” and after a few moments, look and see if there is a common thread or theme amongst them all, as if one word, or a few words, fully captures what all five of them have in common. You may also look to see what is just under the surface of all these words, what over-arching words truly capture the whole essence of your passion. When you feel you have discovered your core passion, write it on the line below.
_________________________
Step Five
Follow up with your core passion and look over all the worksheet passions you checked, especially your top ten passions. Can you see your core passion as the underlying state of mind in each of them? Is there unity between your core passion and most other things you feel passionate about? Just sit with your core passion and see it. Feel it as a simple yet powerful source of positive energy, a state of mind, and a state of being. Insert your core passion into the sentence below.
“When I feel _________________________,” I feel alive, energized, loved, in the moment and purposeful!”
Step Six
Finally, consider what actions or activities manifest and excite you, and you’re likely finding your passion is there. Passion is not a person, place, or thing. It can be generated in the presence of these, but your core passion is an energetic state. It is the thoughts and feelings you get from experiencing or expressing your passion. Your own mental and emotional connections cause the thoughts and feelings you have. So while your loved ones, unique places, or specific activities may arouse your passion, that inner state of thinking and feeling and that deep, joyful feeling you experience is your core passion.
Ask yourself which people, places, things, and actions cause you to experience your core passion. Save and copy your results and journal in the space at the bottom of the “Discover Your Passion Worksheet” about any thoughts you’re aware of that connect you more deeply, more intensely to your core passion.
_________________________