Be Resourceful & Honest – Part of Chapter II of the upcoming book ”Find Your Passion”

Be Resourceful & Honest – Part of Chapter II of the upcoming book Find Your Passion

If you want to discover what you’re really passionate about and turn your passion into your dream career, you need to follow two more important principles:

1) You are naturally creative and resourceful

It is intrinsic to human nature to imagine and create. Yes. That’s right. Creativity is a skill! The more you practice, the better you become at it. The more ideas you generate, the more innovative you become. Remember: You’ve got all the power and wisdom you need to be fulfilled within you. You just need to ‘‘dig them out’’, which is the challenging part. People who call themselves ‘‘creative’’, or the professionals who are in the creative industry, such as musicians, artists, dancers, actors, film directors, and authors are not the only creatives. In fact, ‘‘only 30% of human creativity is based on your genetics. 70% is based on aspects that have been built up people’s behavior when they were growing up’’, as Nick Skillicorn, CEO and Founder of Improvides, underlined in his TEDxTalk*. Nevertheless, creatives are the people who didn’t rely on the gift that nature gave them, but they invested lots of time and energy in practicing and developing the rest 70%, and thanks to all the factors that encouraged them to work on their craft when they were young. Unfortunately, most of the times, the educational system, teachers, parents, and society in general, teach us to find the ‘‘right’’ answers to pass the exams and punish us if we don’t give the expected answers. But expected does not mean right.

So, how’s this related to the discovery and pursuit of your passion? Simple: The more you practice your creativity, the more things you discover about yourself. The more things you discover about yourself, the closer you get to what you’re really passionate about. Because remember that passion is all about self-awareness. So, appreciating your inner wealth of knowledge and wisdom and accessing your resourcefulness play a prominent role in your passion journey. Makes sense?

If not, remember this: If you don’t believe you’ve got everything you need to find your passion, you’ll never find it out. You’ll be feeling stuck, trapped in a vicious circle, feeling that you waste your time, money and energy without the outcome you long for. Unless you change your perspective. Unless you hold yourself as naturally creative and resourceful.

2) Self-Honesty

The day I smashed my hand on the desk and screamed ‘‘ENOUGH’’ with all my soul – or any part of my soul that was left to me – I had reached the ultimate limit of anger for myself. It just couldn’t go more. Nevertheless, I was honest. Honest with myself. Are you?

Hey, there’s no easy way to say this, so listen carefully: Be brutally honest with yourself!

To discover and pursue your passion, you need to be brutally honest with yourself. Whatever are the true reasons that have stopped you to find and follow what you love – not the excuses, other people, or the circumstances – this is the time for you to acknowledge them. It’s time to look at yourself in the mirror. Look straight to your biggest fears. Look deep into your beliefs. What are they? How do they feel like? How do they sound like? Is it about not knowing what’s on the other side? Is it about failing? Rocking the boat? All of these? Anything else?

This time, right now, is the time. It’s your time. The time when you are honest with yourself. Not because you want to harm yourself, but because you care. You care about you and you do know that hiding away from your obstacles does not make them disappear. It’s time to stop hiding behind your finger. Remember: The more honest you are with yourself, the better you’ll clarify where you are right now, and the more likely for you to know where you’ll go; where your passion is. It’s time to take the next step in your life. So, ask yourself this question aloud -and be brutally honest with yourself:

‘‘What am I tolerating?’’

What can help here is to take a step back and see where you are right now.

Taking a step back

Imagine yourself standing at the top of a mountain; your ‘‘life mountain’’. From here you have your ‘‘life view’’. It’s an amazing and unique view; one of a kind, as you. What do you see? How does the landscape look like? Take your time to imagine that for a second…Closing your eyes might help.

Now bring out your binoculars and observe. Observe where your present self is on the journey towards the top of the mountain. What is he/she doing? What are the challenges and obstacles they need to face?

As you stand at the top, be aware that you have the power to send a message; some valuable advice to your present self; to help them make it to the top faster and easier. What are you advising them? What obstacles and challenges should they anticipate? Take your time here to listen….

Once you listen, write down your answers and tips

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y44GBM99JOA The science of improving your brain’s creativity, TEDx Durham University

Feel free to connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as check the upcoming book ”Find Your Passion”, by visiting my personal site JimPanos360.com