Passion & Pride

PASSION  &  PRIDE

Those of you who have been following me for a while now, know that I only write when the message burns brightly in my brain - when I have a message that I simply must share with you.  So there is no agenda to my writings.

I’ve spent the weekend away with family and friends.  It has given me time to reflect on their lives and what impacts them.  I have many online friends - most of them I have personally met and have a relationship with, some are friends of friends and we have built an online relationship - so they share their hopes, dreams, trials and tribulations online.

A close family friend of mine is having a hard time adjusting to his new post-school life.  There are a mix of reasons but it has totally drained him of his passion for his chosen career and life in general.  In the beginning, he did not want to worry any of us.  He kept his anxiety to himself and this built the terrors in his mind.  When he finally swallowed his pride and started to open up, there have been lots of telephone conversations, suggested reading books and using counselling techniques to get him through this transitionary period.  Talking to others who have walked this path before him, he was surprised to discover that they have experienced exactly the same issues as him.  He was heartened to discover that once this period is over, and he moves to his actual workplace, life will change.  Fortunately he has a close and loving relationship with his parents and a week back with them, reignited his passion for all things practical and by the time I saw him on Sunday, he was laughing and joking and has got some perspective on what the next 6 months will hold for him.

At the same time, another friend noted online that he was providing support to one of his nearest and dearest who was having some issues adjusting to what life was throwing at him.  Time spent together has brought this back to an even keel and another family find their way back to laughter.

I then spent some time with a very good friend.  We don’t see each other as often as we’d like since I moved away but we do try.  This weekend was her birthday so I took her flowers and chocolates, because it my passion to treat others well and I know she loves flowers and chocolates.  She’d been very unwell all week but after a cup of coffee and a few laughs, her joie de vivre appeared to come back.  We talked about kindness of others.  How different people build relationships.  I love to go out for dinner and then pay for the meal for everyone - I tell them all that while I have the money to do this, I will continue and when the time comes that I can’t, I won’t - and the universe will provide other ways for my meals to be paid for (mostly in the form of my friends paying for me!!).  She laughed and said that she appreciated this but wanted to make it clear to me that I had to be mindful of pride - she prides herself on paying her own way and if I were to ignore her desire to pay for herself, that could annoy her and damage our friendship.  I’d not thought of this before - so a good tip to remember.

Then we spent time with our nephew.  He has taken a measured, carefully considered view of life.  He’s not yet reached 30 yet he has a responsible job in London and has entered into a business deal with a good friend of his in Thailand, providing fitness services to locals and visitors alike.   His passion is quiet and muted, but it is clear - he wants to be able to provide for his family as he grows older.  He is investing in his life and dreams to achieve this aim.  

Then we moved on to visit our cousins who have recently sold up the family home and moved Counties.  They have both worked extremely hard all their lives to give their three girls the best upbringing they could manage.  She worked at a local care home in the laundry and on many occasions we talked about the pride she put into her work to ensure that the residents’ clothes were correctly and impeccably ironed: A pride that did not always seem to be shared with colleagues.  He travelled all over the country unblocking drains and keeping the country’s drains flowing.  The house move enabled them both to take early retirement.  Her passion is gardening - flowers, their simple beauty, space, and being able to hear the birds, walk with nature.  She is realising her passion and I’m truly delighted for her.  He decided that he wanted to work rather than retire so set about putting his CV out there.  He’d worked for the same company for 30 years - he’d not needed a CV or interview skills - enter his daughters - between them they have plenty of experience of CVs and interviews.  They created a showcase of his talents, posted him online and within a week, he’d been contacted by the local council and during interview was told why he was the man for them!!  He starts on 29th of this month as a county sweeper and he’s delighted.  This role was just perfect for him as he prides himself in doing a good job and providing for his family and his passion is for keeping the country clean and tidy.  Their daughters, sons-in-law and their children visit regularly and everyone pitches in with chores, cooking and just generally creating memories to cherish.  Passion for family is what gets this family through the daily trials and tribulations.

So I started looking again at my passion.  What really makes my heart speed up - what brings a smile to my face - what makes me happy…...it really is YOU, the person taking time to read my thoughts - I spend a lot of time listening to people - hearing their hopes and dreams, helping them get the right training to take them forward.  Friends tell me all the time that Training is my calling because it lights me up and those that have been trained, or are currently in training with me marvel at the way I get them to think more deeply about their problems.  I see it as simply listening to what others want and getting them to think about what they can do to achieve it.

So for me Passion and Pride go hand in hand.  Pride in what we do can fuel Passion for what we do.  

What’s your Passion and what’s your Pride?

If you’d like to discuss this further call me on 07912 935105 or email me on [email protected]