On Nike’s website, their mission statement is stated as:
“To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.
If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
It made me think of how I could say something similar in my work. This is part of what came up:
If you have a passion, you can make an impact.
And we all have a passion.
It may be weighty and look to solve some of the world’s major problems, but it doesn’t have to be flashy or grandiose. You may be passionate about having a large and happy family, building community or organising cupboards and all of these will have an impact.
Of course, everything we do has an impact, but what I am addressing today is to mindfully choose to make a positive impact on the world around us. More to the point, the difference between following your passion or not, is choosing to influence the world around you in a way that feels the most exciting to you. It is making the decision for your actions to have a positive impact on the world while also honouring your deepest desire to leave your mark, sharing your best gifts and feeling the most alive.
I am often approached by people who want to have a more meaningful career but believe they don’t have a passion. They would like to make a positive contribution and help make the world a better place, but are unsure of what they could do. I believe you can find meaning in most jobs and work environments. However, when we are unsatisfied at work and looking for a more meaningful career, what we are really looking for is to match the need to make a difference based on what is most important to us with something we could fit into our daily lives. What is most important to us is something we will be passionate about.
So, how do we find what we are passionate about? The first step to creating a career with impact is awareness of what fuels you, what motivates you and makes you not just happy, but buzzing with excitement. What you would do every day without getting paid, if you could.
The invitation is to take ownership of it, unapologetically. It is your passion. Whether it is basket-weaving or flying jets, there is no need to justify it. It is what makes your heart beat and matters of the heart need no explanation. Once we take ownership of it and accept that our passion is there to be expressed, that it needs an outlet, you will be ready to determine the impact you want to make and start creating a plan of action to make it happen.
This is part of my mission statement, to help you connect with your passion. It is not an intellectual process, or one you can Google. It is essentially a process of connecting with our emotions.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
Can you start noticing every day what you enjoy during the course of your day? What gets you energised just thinking about doing? This previous blog post can also help to start re-connecting with what makes you feel alive.
We may have been trained out of our passions in service to financial gain or other obligations, but one does not need to exclude the other. There are ways to bring your passion to the world without having to make radical changes to your lifestyle. To find out how, book a complimentary introduction to coaching call with me here.
Sources:
What is Nike's mission? (2019, 25 November) Retrieved from https://www.nike.com/help/a/nikeinc-mission
Howard Thurman > Quotes > Quotable Quote (2019, 25 November) Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6273-don-t-ask-what-the-world-needs-ask-what-makes-you
Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash