Think of your Monday morning method. The alarm clock goes off at the same time as last week. You eat the same breakfast. You drive the same route. You drink the same coffee. You settle into the same routine at the office. It sets the tone and routine for the week. You like your Monday morning method, the same one that you do every day, but are you passionate about what you’re doing?
Passion has multiple meanings, but can be summed up in two common ways: romantic expression and non-romantic expression. To find passion in what you do day in and day out, and have a successful small business, you need to have the non-romantic kind of passion. Then pursue it and flourish in it.
The expression of Passion
Before you can find passion in what you do, you have to know what you’re looking for. We’re all familiar with the romantic expression of passion – the ooey-gooey love kind that is directed toward people. For example, when someone says “I’m passionate about my husband” you know they are referring to a group of emotions and physical behaviors.
The non-romantic kind of passion is what we use to describe things and non-romantic relationships. For example, “I’m passionate about classic cars” or “I’m passionate about my daughter.” This kind of passion draws your focus, consumes your interest, and provides some kind of pleasure and enjoyment.
Passion in a Successful Small Business
So how do you have passion at work? Passion is what gets you up in the morning whether your alarm goes off or not. It’s what gets you through the hard times. All too often it doesn’t get talked about in detail well, so finding it is hard. It also gets put down a lot because many people chase the feeling of passion and only associate it with the romantic type. People can chase passion without knowing what it really is. The type of passion needed for a successful small business is the kind that helps people get stuff done. It consists of:
- Gifts/Talents – These are the things you are naturally good at.
- Interests – These are the things you genuinely want to know more about. They can come and go and change.
- Skills – These are the things that have to be developed. For example, you can be passionate about classic cars, but not necessarily the mechanics of working on them – so don’t start an auto repair shop.
If you have these three things then you have increased the potential of finding something you can be passionate about vocationally. Something that doesn’t just feel like the daily grind.
The Components Needed to Pursue Passion
If passion is described as something we like a lot and consumes our interest then it’s safe to assume it also makes us happy. In the book “The Happiness Advantage” Shawn Achor writes about how scientists describe happiness, which sounds a lot like passion:
“So how do scientists define happiness? Essentially, as the experience of positive emotions – pleasure combined with deeper feelings of meaning and purpose. Happiness implies a positive mood in the present and a positive outlook for the future. Martin Seligman, the pioneer in positive psychology, has broken it down into three, measurable components: pleasure, engagement, and meaning.”
Passion suggests something more extreme. In business it’s an extreme amount of the following five components:
- Expression – making sure you are focusing on the right type of passion by showing interest in something in a non-romantic way.
- Pleasure – getting enjoyment out of something and just liking it a lot.
- Engagement – consuming your interests even if it means expending a lot of energy, not because you feel obligated to, but because you want to.
- Meaning – having a relevant reason and the bigger picture of your impact and significance to the whole.
- Pursuit – you continually chase after your passion. It’s kind of like catching the wind – you can’t! But even though you never actually see it you can feel it and see the effects of it.
There are two different ways to express passion, and the non-romantic type is what draws your attention, focus and interest. When you’re passionate about something you don’t mind investing time and energy into it because you like it a lot. It makes your Monday morning worth getting up for and leads to a successful small business.
If you’d like help finding passion in your business, contact us at Half a Bubble Out. We are a Passion & Provision company helping small businesses survive and thrive.
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Creating a Passion & Provision Company is What Makes Employees Happy
