I+M=P: The Inspiration + Motivation = Passion Formula for Discovery

When I was very early in my career, colleagues would ask, "what are you passionate about"? Seriously, I thought. Surely, at the age of 27, I'm not really supposed to have "passion", or am I? Good grief, thanks for the additional reason why I think something is wrong with me! Can we please stop pressuring ourselves and others to "find their passion"?

Fast forward 30 years.....here's a thought that came to me in the wee hours of June 4th, 2019. I woke up in the middle of night asking myself about what inspires me. That was pretty easy. I find inspiration all around in nature, without a doubt. Take a moment and get lost in the veins of a leaf, or the lines of a conch shell, or the whiskers on your fur baby. Nature is amazing. Watch time lapsed photography on a flower blooming (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhDF1l4YjSE). This is incredible stuff, people!

Moving quickly on to motivation. Inspiration and motivation are two very different things. My husband was a ultra-marathon runner and while I found that incredibly inspiring, it was by means motivating (at least to me, that is). I'm of the 5k variety! To some, money or financial security is motivating but I doubt they would say it's inspiring. Personally, what I find is motivating is the idea to protect and preserve what I feel is inspiring. Nature inspires me on a daily basis. I am motivated to preserve nature, therefore, I do what I can to change my own behavior and influence others to do the same in order to preserve it. From what I see and hear, many people are inspired by nature and for good reason.....after all, it IS responsible for our very existence, survival, and well-being. Biophilia (meaning love of nature) proves our innate attraction to nature and natural processes (google it for more than 3 million results!).

Ah ha, so I guess I found my passion. Or did I? More likely it is that my passion found me. To everyone feeling pressured to FIND their passion, cut yourself some slack and relax. Trust me in this, your passion WILL find you. You have to be ready to see it and recognize it. Then, you will be unsure what found who or who found what, but that's irrelevant. You simply become it and it's the authentic YOU through and through. One more thing, it does not happen overnight. It's an evolutionary process and it may or may not deliver an "ah-ha" moment. In the meantime, relax and be open to all the possibilities and be true to yourself at all times.