Janet Attwood made us go through a passion test. She asked to look into the areas of healh, career, relationship, fun, environment, spirituality, and education. We had to write ten passions as statements "When my life is ideal I am...."
Some of the examples she provided were rather ambitious:
"When my life is ideal I am world famous pianist."
"When my life is ideal I am peacefully watching a sunset over an ocean in a condo in Hawaii."
Others more close to personal life:
"`When my life is ideal I lovingly spend fantastic time with my husband"
Instead of circling the top five, we went two statements at a time and chose one of the two. If we hesitated we had to think if we could get one and never the other which would we choose. It was puzzling how going through the list several times clarified some ideas until five passions were left.
We also had to score form 0 to 10 how close we are to our ideal statements. When the scores were low it brought a question: what are you going to do about it?
My 5 passions were related to family, health, leadership, learning, and home. Not very surprising, but some things I thought I cared about didn't seem as important when asked "this but never the other" question. Listening to some other persons my statements were modest. The first and the last got rather high scores. The other three I have to do more about.
Janet gave a formula to living a passionate life: follow three words only -
Intention - What do you want? Quite often what stops people is that they don't know what do they really want.
Attention - commitment and focus on the passion. If you know what you want you should focus your thoughts and actions to achieving it. Your passion should guide your choices.
No tension - This is the ability to let go. Understand that you can't control everything. If one door doesn't open go to another.
What I loved most about her presentation was her vibrant energy and the attitude that it is ok to be who you are, follow your own passions and not do something just to please others.
"When you begin to do what you love, what you are truly passionate about, your life will be irresistibly pulled in directions you can't even begin to imagine." - Janet Attwood
Do you know what your passions are?
Do you follow your passions?
About Jack Canfield's presentation I will write tomorrow.
This was a great window into what must have been an amazing talk. I was inspired to keep writing. I was also inspired to make daily choices of intention. Thanks for sharing your experience!
ReplyDeleteI can see why this conference captivated you. Passionate but analytic. I appreciate the pieces of the process especially the honing in on what matters most. And the last piece of the formula. We, or maybe its just me, have a hard time letting go of things I can't control!
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience! Thought provoking ... one day I will return to this slice, maybe take the quiz and go from there. For now, my passion is sleep. I'm overtired from the challenge this year while balancing the rest of life. Happy to hear about your adventure!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really fun workshop! I like your notes at the end about intention, attention, and no tension. I will be reflecting on my top five. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Amanda at http://teachingwanderlust.com/
Thanks for such an intriguing summary of what must have been a wonderful time spent examining your own life - as it is now and as you would hope for it to be. I am going to try this myself! And I look forward to reading about Jack Canfield - the "Chicken Soup" guy? - tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an incredible experience! I love her formula - attention, intention, and no tension! When I think about it, that is what passion boils down to! I will come back to take the passion test!
ReplyDeleteAs I said yesterday, I'm so glad you took that leap and went to this conference. Not only do you benefit, but we all do because you're sharing. This was terrific to read, Terje. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYour last two questions have me thinking about my passions. I think I know them, but sometimes I find it hard to follow them. I will have to think longer on this. What a journey of thoughts!
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to get us in tune with ourselves. I like the idea of focusing on two things and deciding which we would give up entirely as a means of gaining perspective. Glad you went and are sharing.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting to experience this through what you are sharing Terje.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see the process you followed to uncover your passions. I like what you loved most about her presentation, "...it is ok to be who you are, follow your own passions..." An apt lesson for us to share with the students we teach too.
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