When we wrap curiosity around our passion and passion around our curiosity, together they are able to do more than survive, together they can thrive.

Passion is simply another way of describing energy.

Everything in the universe is energy.  What we are doing in identifying our passion is simply noticing a very personal energy to us.

We’re all energised by something different.  Even those working together in the same field are passionate about different aspects of it.  It’s our curiosity that has led to us noticing certain things over others.  As we’ve pursued these particular interests, we’ve developed certain skills over others – these are what we describe as our competencies.

Competencies are easier for others to see than our passions.  Those around us may see something of our passion, drive, energy, they are unable to feel what we feel.  Competency is never the whole story.  It’s possible for us to develop skills to a certain level in order to please our parents or peers or partners or employers, but when and where our competencies and passions meet there’ll be significant growth.   So significant is this that we’ll need to find new words and phrases and images and metaphors to describe the things that are opening before us.

This is where we dwell in integrity – integrity being how we connect with with others, with our world, with our God or worldview, and with ourselves.

Seth Godin suggests playing the cynic or the mimic or the comic are really ways of hiding.  When we feel something so powerfully we can’t hide.  We must show up.  I think of this as our zing connecting our thinking with our doing.

SOMETHING TO DO: Try making out a list of the roles and activities that fill your life under the following headings and see what you come up with.  Draw a large graph in which x = competency and y = passion.

Create quadrants for high and low competency, and high and low passion.

You’re ready to fill in the quadrants:

LOW COMPETENCY/LOW PASSION (these are the things you need to delegate to others – someone will love what you do not);
LOW COMPETENCY/HIGH PASSION (you need to learn more about these things);
HIGH COMPETENCY/LOW PASSION (here are things you can teach to others);
HIGH COMPETENCY/HIGH PASSION (these are the things you must do – you don’t give these things away; time to explore these more).

RESOURCES YOU MAY ENJOY:
The Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus