Passion lessons from an amoeba

Over the years I've worked with many people who have felt stuck in a career that doesn't fit them and heard countless ways to describe how that feels. My absolute favorite came from a woman who was extraordinarily creative and intuitive.

She had managed to be very successful in the linear and logical world of the software industry, but had reached a point where being who she wasn't day in and day out was literally making her sick.

"I feel like an amoeba in a paramecium pool," she said one day. What a great visual! There she was, built to move with the unstructured and organic movements of an amoeba, but forcing herself to fit in with the straightforward movements of all the other paramecia.

My definition of passion is, "the energy that comes from bringing more of YOU into what you do." Simply put, it's the energy that comes from being who you are, and doing what you do naturally, in ways you're naturally drawn to.

And that's where people often run into trouble. So many people deny who they really are in attempt to fit into what they think they should be. They make their career decisions on external factors (money, status, what jobs are growing, other people's definition of "success," etc.) and they neglect to factor what they are best suited for into the picture.

It's possible that they'll get lucky and strike gold, but it's more likely that they'll wind up trying to jam themselves into a path that doesn't fit.

Take a look at your career. Does it fit hand in glove with who you are, or is work about getting up every day and heading off for another day of being who you're not? Do you feel like an amoeba in a paramecium pool? Or maybe a paramecium in a pool of amoebas?

The more what you do aligns with who you are, the more energy you get from the work you do, the less energy you have to waste doing something that doesn't fit, and the more energy you have to put towards success.

 

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM