Are You Tricking—Or Treating—Your Passions?

Are you gathering up your passions and stuffing them into into your goodie bag? Or do your fears make you ring the bell and run away instead? All of us have passions, but some of us let fear stop us from going after our passion wholeheartedly.

As you’re getting the hang of the process of finding fulfillment, there are 4 questions you can ask yourself to move past fear and get the most leverage from each desire.

1) How much passion does this desire inspire in you? The desire that inspires your passion will bring along the resources you need to fulfill it. Indeed, passion brings its friends imagination, creativity and boundless energy to the party. Thus, the strongest desires swing the biggest crowbar, giving you the leverage to get what you most want with less effort.

2) What’s the meaning behind the passion you're pursuing? Every desire consists of a least two layers. This surface layer consists of a physical object (like a car), or a tangible acquisition (like a job).

The second, deeper layer consists of the flavor(s) of happiness you’ll feel when you have it: secure, free, joyful, fulfilled, peaceful, gratified, loved, content, etc.

When you connect your actions to the feeling you want, your passion (and its friends) greases the skids. It’s so much easier to get what you want when your enthusiasm carries you along, spawning one brilliant idea after another until you’ve finally got it.

3) Will you have to stretch yourself a bit in order to pursue this desire? Woven through every strand of your DNA is the drive to learn and grow. You’ll tap into your creativity to figure out how to get what you want. Your confidence will grow. And it feels good.

So good, in fact, that it’s addictive. The more you get, the more you want. The best part is that the more you grow, the more able you’ll be to grow. And the more tools you’ll develop—confidence, clarity, resourcefulness and wisdom.
4) Is this desire exciting, but a little scary, too? Fear is your signal that you’re stepping out of your comfort zone; you’re taking a small risk.

A 2-ton boulder falling from the sky onto your head is scary. A speck of dust, not so much. The key is to break a risk down enough that you can move forward.

Living in fear keeps you stuck. Taking zero risk gets tedious, boring and defies your DNA. You don’t get wiser by doing nothing. Wisdom comes from taking calculated risk.

So, think it through. Break it down into manageable steps. Then take one baby step after another. You’ll get there.

Joy is the basis of the happiness you’re pursuing, so enjoy the pursuit. When you achieve your desire, a new one will be born. Again and again. As long as you live.

Today’s Coaching Question: What’s the most effective way you’ve found to deal with risk?