Life Tools: Passion Tools or "Passion Fuel"

1. Get into the CREATIVE MODE! Brainstorm, paint, draw, arrange flowers, re-decorate your home, write a story, or create something new!

2. Have DREAMS (not fantasies) Dreams are our biggest or wildest possibilities! Fantasies are beyond the realm of possibility.

3. Create a PASSION MAP - Like a roadmap for life… this one is fun, filled with color, quotes, pictures of activities, dreams and desires that when observed creates an experience of passion in the moment! One photo or a collage can work equally well if it truly represents your dreams. Be sure it's placed somewhere you will see it daily.

4. Convert your dreams into a VISION, and then… break the vision down into GOALS; breaking them down into small tasks. Reward yourself as you make progress! Make sure that you understand that your vision is likely to always be in a state of transformation and be willing to modify it. Be flexible!

5. Get your NEEDS met so passion can come authentically as an expression of your values rather than an expression of your unmet needs. The first step here is to identify your needs! Working with a Personal Life Coach can help you access your internal wisdom more quickly. Identifying needs, core values, and discovering purpose can help turn dreams into reality.

6. Know your core VALUES. (i.e. Purposeful action, Beauty, Nature, Harmony, Experiencing life)

7. DANCE or SING. Free your spirit to express itself through movement or musical voice.

8. PLAY! Let your child out - free of guilt! It IS an authentic aspect of WHO you are!

9. Be GRATEFUL! In a state of gratitude, it's hard to be angry, sad or fearful!

10. TAKE 20 minutes! Take a time-out. Emotional hijackings, as Daniel Goleman calls them in the book Emotional Intelligence, are when a situation stimulates our primitive brain to produce a flood of chemicals, which immediately changes our body chemistry and state of being. It is noted that even when one intentionally works on soothing the anxiety of the strong emotion, at least 20 minutes is needed for the body chemistry to come back to normal… and when a person is stuck in the emotion, well - who knows how long the effect can last.

11. Get out of your own way! Ask yourself - How am I in my own way? …Simply let go… especially of the unhealthy mind chatter!

12. Ask PURE QUESTIONS of self and others. These are questions to which you truly don't know the answer. This is the fertile territory of wonder and curiosity!

13. A 5-STEP path to rejuvenating passion
  •  Simply STOP - Get off the treadmill of reaction and unconscious action. Notice what IS present for you… Inside and out! Concrete facts, thoughts, feelings, body sensations, etc. "When we look for what's missing… we miss what's here!"
  •  Acceptance of what was what IS, and what may be yet to come. You may have heard of the Serenity Prayer? God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
  •  Shift to a place of Gratitude to get grounded - What do I see, feel, or know right now that I am grateful for or authentically passionate about? NOTICE IT… ILLUMINATE IT… GIVE IT CENTER STAGE!
  •  ASK for direction - What do I want here and now… to feel passion again?
  •  Take integral ACTION

14. Do something DIFFERENT …something you've never done before! Take a glider flight, go contra dancing, take African hand-drumming lessons, dress up in something outrageous, go to an amusement park and ride the biggest roller coaster…

15. SCHEDULE IT! Once you schedule something you want to do, it denotes commitment, and that alone creates a huge shift. If you want to take a big trip to some special place, get the information and put your deposit down. Schedule it! … Even if it's 2 years away! Or, if it's 5 years away, put a big photo of where you are going on your refrigerator and write "2010" on the photo. Commit!

16. Find a COMMUNITY of others who share your values, your interests, and your passions. Get together with them on a regular basis.

17. Put together a MASTER-MIND GROUP with the intention of stoking your passion for life. Carefully select people who are truly committed to this purpose.

18. Have a PASSION PARTNER. This could be a friend, co-worker, or a professional life coach who understands what you need to keep your passion alive. Let them know how they can help you - whether it be by encouragement, holding you accountable, continuing to ask you perceptive changing questions about your passion, or to simply be there to cheer you on.

Copyright © 1999, 2002, 2003 Beth Meininger, PCC, beth@coachingjourneys.com All Rights Reserved.

 

 
   
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