I just finished watching a video of a high school friend, Kathy Stevens, who was giving a presentation on her work at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in New York. Kathy and I grew up in the same rural Southern community on farms about 5 miles from each other.
I knew that Kathy went off to Boston to college after high school and I lost track of her. It wasn’t until a recent visit to Charlotte that another high school friend mentioned her and what she was up to that sparked my interest in reconnecting with Kathy on facebook.
What struck me more than anything else about watching the video was Kathy’s pure love and passion for the work that she does. On the video, her emotion and commitment to her work was palpable and inspirational. She not only founded and runs an amazing sanctuary that takes in abandoned, neglected and abused farm animals and gives them a new lease on life, but she has become a tireless advocate for veganism in an effort to protect the animals that she has come to appreciate, admire and love.
Finding your passion is something that I often advocate. In fact, as many of you know, that’s the basis for our U-Factor program. I know that following my passion has enriched my life beyond measure. And I could see in the video clip how Kathy’s work gives her so much boundless joy.
But unfortunately, we’re in the minority. I recently heard of a study that indicated that 8 out of 10 Americans are not happy in the work that they do. As I put that in perspective, I can think back to high school and sitting in the cafeteria with Kathy and at least 8 other friends during lunch. To think that the statistics would tell me that the others who were at our two tables have not followed their passion is disappointing and disheartening at the very least.
The good news is that it’s never too late to discover and follow your passion. So let’s start with the very first step, answering a few questions. What would you do with your life if you knew you couldn’t fail, if money was not an issue and you were free to focus on what brought you joy?
What gets you excited? What energizes you?
Usually, figuring out your passion isn’t too difficult. Although I know many people who have a hard time with it initially. It’s usually because they’ve never given themselves permission to go there or they don’t know what to do once they do. Or they’ve been too constrained by the fear of taking such a big risk. But what’s the risk of not going there? What is the risk of living a life that doesn’t inspire you and touch you at your core?
No doubt, acknowledging (much less following) your passion, requires an openness to take a leap of faith. And it does require a bit of soul-searching and an honest review of what is truly important to you…tapping into your own authenticity and not the layered preconceptions of others who you may have spent a lifetime wanting to please.
I had one client who struggled because she had so many things that she was passionate about. She really couldn’t narrow it down to one path. It wasn’t until I suggested a way that she could combine her different passions into one bigger vision that she got ‘unstuck’ and quickly grew more excited and animated with all the possibilities that awaited her.
So what awaits you? Do you know what your passion is? Are you willing to find out? And what will you do about it? To quote Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”
To the rest of the gang who sat at the tables in the cafeteria of Patrick Henry High School those many, many years ago, I hope you are beating the odds and following your own path just like our classmate Kathy.
