Without Passion, Can You Really Experience Fulfillment?

Passion:

The emotions as distinguished from reason; intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction; an outbreak of anger; ardent affection; a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept; sexual desire; an object of desire or deep interest Synonyms: Fervor, ardor, enthusiasm, zeal

Are you passionate about everything in your life?

First, let’s consider the opposite scenario.

Imagine one of your friends or co-workers with the following personality traits:

• He lacks enthusiasm for everything in his life.
• Though his personality is not toxic, he doesn’t get excited anymore.
• He operates with an attitude of indifference toward work, his significant other, his kids and life in general.

What success do you think this person will achieve? Would he inspire you or others? Would he inspire himself? Most likely not!

So, let’s go back to the question.

Are you passionate about everything in your life? I mean everything. If your answer is Yes, great! If not, let’s investigate the implications.

As a side note, just so you know, I write these articles as much for myself as for others.

Without passion, you cannot be fully engaged or feel fulfilled in your life. It’s like living each day in black and white instead of dazzling color!

What are some of the consequences of a lack of passion?

• People who are slow to react at work and indifferent to others are low on the priority list for promotions and raises.
• A married couple that no longer feels passion toward each other can see a great relationship fade into emptiness.
• Parents who are not interested in their child’s life can create a rift to develop between themselves and their child.
• When people are not passionate about life, they may isolate themselves from everyone else and life’s great enjoyments. In extreme cases, they become depressed—even suicidal.

A lack of passion is self-centered behavior; it is attention focused inward—not on the numerous opportunities around you.

Being passionate about your life is your choice. You might offer excuses; however, in the end, you have the capability to decide.

Passion at Work

Your passion at work emanates from connecting to and applying your purpose. If you love flying but are working in retail, there is a disconnect—but you still have the choice to engage your desire to fly. You can start to build your plan to get where you want to be.

If you hate your work, who’s responsible for that? Take ownership of your condition and your situation. If you don’t plan to stay in that position forever, fine, but always give your best today. Be seen as a leader.

Remember: References are important when you move on. Help create a work environment where people will miss you when you leave—not give you a good-riddance send-off. (Please see the Action Steps below.)

Passion in Relationships

Love Your Choice is a great book on relationships. In a previous article, I conveyed that input equals output. If you focus on all the negative things about your partner, you will output negative feelings. Choose passion, and you might be surprised.

Some of you are probably thinking about how “unlovable” your partner is. I would guess you are receiving what you are putting out. Am I right? You get what you put in. Be passionless with your partner and that’s what you get back. This applies to relatives and all friendships, too.

Passion in Life

Life has so much to offer. Express your enthusiasm in every moment—at work, in the checkout line at the grocery store, in your hobbies and during your recreational activities.

In pro sports, you can tell which athletes have lost passion for the game and which have not. In many retirement speeches, players say they could still contribute to the game, but they have lost their passion—and without it, the sport they once loved is no longer fulfilling.

Passion is a prerequisite to the level of fulfillment and engagement in your life. While I admit some people are over-the-top in their exuberance, what I mean here is that you must have a confident commitment to be passionate in everything you do.

Passion is a choice. It has very little to do with your circumstances.

What would others say about your passion level in all areas of your life? How do you rank yourself on a scale of 1 to 10? (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)

You and I must strive to be as close to 10 as we can in all areas!

Start now. Choose passion over indifference. You might be pleasantly surprised.

CRG’s calling is to assist others to live, lead and work on purpose—including helping people discover their passion and learn how to live it, intentionally, every day.

Consider the following processes and assessments:

• To confirm your beliefs and purpose in all areas in your life, I recommend my latest book, The Quest For Purpose. It will take you on a personal discovery to help you confirm and affirm your passions in life.
• CRG’s Values Preference Indicator, Self-Worth Inventory, Stress Indicator and Health Planner and the Personal Style Indicator will help you fully embrace your passions.

To enhance your results, follow these Action Steps...

Action Steps

Without Passion, Can You Really Experience Fulfillment?

1. How passionate are you in all areas of your life? What would others say about your level of passion?
2. Where can you improve your passion level at work, in relationships and in life? List them now!
3. Passion is a choice. If your passion level is low, don’t blame others or your circumstances.
4. If you are working in a role or industry you dislike, acknowledge it and start focusing on what you want. Regardless, do your best in your current position. A positive mindset will assist you to achieve your next goal.
5. To help people discover their passion and purpose, I wrote The Quest For Purpose so people can confirm their passions and connect with their purpose.
6. Your relationships (for the most part) are a reflection of the level of passion and commitment you have put into them. If you and your significant other are not connected to (passionate with) each other, you can choose to change that. Children, other relatives and friends will also respond to you when you engage them with more passion.
7. Look at the rest of your life. What could you change to improve your passion?
8. Benchmark your gifts, talents and passion by using CRG’s proven assessments. Your results will assist you to establish your beliefs with confidence, and increase your passion in all areas of your life. As part of the clarification process, we recommend four specific assessments:

• To identify your natural preferences and strengths, complete the Personal Style Indicator (PSI).
• To identify your stress and wellness levels, complete the Stress Indicator and Health Planner (SIHP).
• To clarify your core values, complete the Values Preference Indicator (VPI).
• To understand how your level of self-worth is affecting your success, complete the Self-Worth Inventory (SWI).

9. Fulfillment comes from being fully and passionately engaged in life. From this very moment, choose to live every day with passion!

Until next time,

keep Living On Purpose!

Dr. Ken Keis

For information on CRG’s resources, please visit www.crgleader.com

About the Author:

Dr. Ken Keis, is a foremost global authority on behavioral assessment strategies and processes, and an expert in leadership, purpose, and wellness. He has authored over 4 million words of content, including 500 articles, 4 books, and a dozen assessments to help others realize their full potential.

President and CEO of Consulting Resource Group International (CRG), Dr. Keis has worked with many high-profile companies, associations, and industry groups. In the past 30 years, Ken has conducted more than 3,000 presentations and 10,000 hours of coaching and consulting. He is a highly sought-after author, speaker, trainer, media guest and also host of The Secrets of Success Podcast with Dr. Ken Keis.

His latest books, Why Aren’t You More Like Me?, Deliberate Leadership, and The Quest For Purpose!

To learn more on how Ken or CRG can serve you go to www.kenkeis.com and www.crgleader.com .

Checkout Dr. Ken Keis' Secrets of Success Podcast https://soundcloud.com/crgleader

OUR NEW eCOURSE IS AVAILABLE, What Do You Really Value? Watch the video below!