This is the fourth in a series of Blogs on personal management and how to lead a life worth living and be happy.
Tui - what would it be like without bird song!
People who have purpose and passion tend to be very happy. This blog suggests ways to help you find a purpose and passion. It's the start of the process that leads to taking actions that meet your personal aspirations and expectations, lead a life worth living and through this achieve happiness.
Think about those people that you know who are happy. I suspect they are enthusiasts about something - their work, their hobby, their family, sport, a campaign issue, an organisation they support, learning something.
When I was a student studying life sciences I read a book called 'Silent Spring' by Rachel Carson. At the time organic pesticides and herbicides were used with little knowledge of their ecological impact. One impact was that it effected the ability of birds to breed, their egg shells did not form properly.
What would it be like to live in a world without a dawn chorus and bird song? It's a delight waking up to. This book was critical in my choice of taking an ecological based degree and with it a desire to bring about environmental change. When I reflect on this choice and my passion for the natural world it started when I was a child living near the countryside and having a mother who took us blackberrying, collecting rose hips or chestnuts. Later as a teenager I used to go fishing as much for being near rivers and lakes as for the sport. So there's been a number of events, activities, people that have influenced me and I still have this passion for the natural world. With everything I do I try to take account of the impact of my actions on it!
How do you find your purpose and your passion for it? That's the starting point to lead a life worth living. Here's a suggestion and you'll need one of my favourite resources - a large blank sheet of paper! Actually usually many sheets of paper.
We all live in the present. We have a past but when we seek purpose and passion what we are planning for is a future life that is worth living and that has happiness in it.
'....Be ready, heart, for parting, new endeavour,
Be ready bravely and without remorse
To find new light that old ties cannot give,
In all beginnings dwells a magic force
For guarding us and helping us to live.' Hermann Hesse - The Glass Bead Game
The Glass Bead Game, among other things, chronicles the changes and stages of the main character as he lives his life. It recognises the importance of the past as it influences the present, but it also recognises the importance of change and new beginnings. At different times in our life we have different expectations, and it's the achieving or surpassing of these expectations that tend to make us pleased, excited, fulfilled and happy. At different stages of our life doing different things bring us happiness. Usually it is the 'doing', the process, that actually brings happiness. Often it's the doing 'stuff' with others, the collaboration and sharing of experiences, that is as important as the things we do. This is what I mean by a life worth living.
On the blank paper write down all of those things in your life that have been exciting, or that have made you feel good about yourself, or that have been important landmarks. Include all those people that have been influential at those times.
As a child who were your friends, what did you do with them? Quite likely you don't know them now but they were important then. Which family members were most important - what did they do with you to make them important? Who was your first girl/boy friend? Have you made something that gave you pleasure? Who taught you how to make it? What teachers inspired? What work have you enjoyed and why? Have you been anywhere that was inspiring? Who with? Have you been inspired by someone? What/who makes you laugh or brings you joy?
What you'll end up with is a random list of events, activities, people and places - sometimes called a brainstorm - you're effectively emptying your head of these things onto the paper.
Expectations met and people you have collaborated with are helpful phrases to remember when doing this brainstorm.
There's a number of ways to organise this brainstorm. One that I've found helpful is to create a timeline. You'll need more blank paper - it can sometimes be a long sheet if your brainstorm is large.
Draw a line from your childhood to the present day, add dates and then place the brainstorm items in chronological order along the line. It can be helpful to group them under headings, such as family, education, work, play, places, travel etc.
What this does is gives you a perspective of the important things in your life, but more importantly, it starts creating a pattern of those things that have brought you happiness and of the sort of people you've collaborated with to help bring about this.
Below is my timeline as an example. In the bottom right are some indications of the sort of things I should do in the future.
Your brainstorm is unique to you. I've hinted at a few things on my list that show a pattern such as a love of the natural world. In the next blog I'll write about how you turn this brainstorm into a future plan that has purpose and passion. Looking at the past is helpful but your aspirations and expectations are about your vision for the future and how you want to live it.
In organisational terms this next stage is strategic planning, but it is equally helpful at a personal level.
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