IGNITE YOUR PASSION

I remember seeing a quote that says that passion is not necessarily a match made from heaven, you sort of have to dig in to find it. There, somewhere in your heart, you’ll find what you truly love, and when you begin to reflect deeply you find that it has always been there. You have to pay attention, listen to yourself, listen to your heart and really dig in to find what it is. 

I have done a lot of passion exercise, I still do sometimes in the cause of helping people and I find that sometimes you ask questions that go back as far as what do you enjoy doing when you were much younger and it is interesting to find out that as far back as the relationship with our guest’s grandfather went, it influenced her passion.

I want to share a little story about myself. I went through school loving the Arts, poetry. I could interpret all the weird poems that we read in school, Shakespeare and others. I found it really easy to understand some of those complex poems that others found hard to understand. I loved drama, I was a fantastic dancer, I love to sing as you may know. 

I started to see later in life, everything I got involved in, even as I held senior positions on boards and organizations, I always found a way to bring in creativity. So it was never far from me.

And, of course, my love and appreciation for the entertainment industry, and not just Nigerian movies. I’ve always been fascinated by everything that has to do with creativity and arts. 

If I am correct, I don’t think there is any entertainer in my bloodline but it has always been in me. It was not a surprise to my friends, when I went in this direction.

So, please dig deeper. Have a conversation with yourself. What do I love to do? What am I passionate about? What do I want to give my all to? I recommend this exercise to everyone, whether you are stuck or you don’t know the right thing to do.  Evaluate yourself, ask your friends, they know! They see it. They know the things that come naturally to you. If you can answer these questions and write something down, then you’re on a journey to igniting your passion. 

It’s okay if it’s a list of 3 or 5 things, time will tell. You’ll be able to tell which one it is. Though I believe that there are multiple expressions of someone. You can have different sides to you, different things you are passionate about. One will surely outweigh the other.

Another thing that we tend to downplay is the role of support systems. In this journey to finding and igniting your passion, you cannot do it alone. So ensure that you have a trust circle that can be honest with you, a coach and a mentor that can guide you through the process. You also need people who have been in the field you are transitioning into.

It is also important to note that some challenges or issues are temporary and they should not make you question your passion. Your dreams are deeper than that, some challenges are inevitable. Challenges could be you not getting along with your manager, a problem with the industry or your business, or the stress that comes with the job. These difficult situations should not be the reason we begin to question ‘should I really be here?’.

So the fact that you are doing something you love doesn’t automatically mean everything will be fantastic and would work out all fine. No, it is not heaven. There will be ups and downs. Be persistent, seek help necessary but don’t give up.