After a life-time of juggling a job, kids, and a busy household, Kate lives alone in a small house in a quite suburb, where she keeps her garden, reads volume after volume of historical fiction, and has her dearest friends over once a month for a Bible study. She is happy.Kate’s neighbor Jeff, a construction worker in his forties, would be mystified by her contentment. He rolls out of bed at six sharp each morning. Before going to work, he runs three miles and works out with free weights. On the weekends, he can be found rock climbing, spelunking, or, in the winter time, “hitting the slopes.” He looks forward to waking up, looks forward to going to work, and looks forward to his time off work.
Two houses down from Jeff, Paul teaches seventh grade science to a classroom of what he calls “inmates.” His students think he’s cool, and he barely hides his genuine love for them with lighthearted razzing. But his affection for “his kids” pales by comparison to his devotion to “his girls” – his wife and three daughters. Each morning when he walks Sadie, the family mutt, for her walk, he always feels a stab for his poor, “lonely” neighbor Jeff when the man lopes by on his early morning run.
What do these three neighbors have in common?
Not much, you might say, but I suggest you look again. Kate, Jeff and Paul are all living A Life Of Passion. By being tuned in to their unique personalities and potential, they have achieved self actualization. Jeff would be miserably bored in Kate’s quiet life, and Paul would die of loneliness if he tried to live like either of his more solitary neighbors. Jeff’s adventures wouldn’t appeal to Kate, nor would the happy, busy chaos of Paul’s life.
We are motivated and fed by our passions. If you’re life is aligned with your passions, you’re happy. You wake up with a feeling of anticipation. Kate may think, “I get to plant my tomatoes today!” while Jeff thinks: “I get to start work on that new project today.” Meanwhile, as Paul squints at the list of kids activities scrawled on the calendar for the upcoming week, he might be thinking, “I can’t believe I get to live this life!”
Are you in tune with your passions and living a life of self actualization? We at HDI have found that there are ten passions that drive humans?
• Learning. Craves understanding and knowledge, driven by curiosity. Tends toward the logic.
• Achieving. Fed by accomplishment. Competitive hard-worker. Tends to keep score.
• Leading. Likes to be in charge and makes things happen. Can be dominating or impatient.
• Harmony. Likes to feel connected to the simple things in life. Often artistic, thoughtful and observant.
• Serving. Wants to be helpful and make the world a better place. Inclined toward empathy and team-play.
• Organizing. Craves order, structure and routine. Detail oriented. Tends to prefer the status quo.
• Individualistic. Values independence, personal freedom and self-reliance. Willing to take risks.
• Intimacy. Desires friendship and closeness. Values relationships, deep conversations and friendships.
• Adventure. Loves fun, spontaneity, recreation and sports. Thrives on risk-taking and challenge.
• Spirituality. Searches for unity, connectedness, and meaning. Values faith, inner strength and integrity.
Unlike the personality traits that we talked about in previous blogs, your passions will shift through your life. Your passions at age 20 may be very different than your passions at 40 or 60, and the ebb and flow of them can be revitalizing and fulfilling.
Roger K. Allen, Ph.D. is an expert in personal transformation, leadership, and teams. His tools and methods have helped hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of people transform the ways they work and live. To learn more, visit www.rogerkallen.com.
