Issue #64 - January, 12  2001 <<Blocks to Finding Your Passion>>

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brought to you by Laurie Riddell Geary, M.Ed., PCC.
Coaching you to get your life IN GEAR by making shifts, getting
unstuck, finding balance, accelerating your growth, and mapping
the best route to your chosen destination: a life filled with
passion and purpose.

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Table of Contents:

        1. Reader Feedback:
        2. Topic: <<Blocks to Finding Your Passion>>
                3. Recommended Tasks
        4. Recommended Books
               *New: A Resource Booklet on Games and Initiatives
                5. Upcoming Teleclasses and local Workshops
                6. Subscription information

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Reader Feedback (on Finding Your Passion: Issue #62)

<Hi Laurie,
When looking for work I often rely on questions such as "what are
my skills?" or "what am I qualified to do?" But these are the
questions that lead me in the wrong direction or hold me back. I
have lots of skills. I can create a flawless Excel spreadsheet
and type 50 wpm, but I'm certainly not passionate about those
things, and I don't want to do those things for a living! I
think I need to shift the emphasis from what I qualified to do to
"what do I love to do?" Ask myself: What makes me feel alive?
When do I get so absorbed that I lose track of time? What makes
me feel good about myself? Once I figure out what I really want
then I can figure out how to get qualified>
Sincerely,  Cheryl Chamberlain

re: Booklet: Games & Initiatives for TeamBuilding:
<Laurie has put together a great book of field-tested experiential
games and activities for trainers and facilitators. Her explanations
for setting up and running each activity are very clear and concise.
I've purchased a lot of books on training activities and usually only
find a few from each book that I can envision using. Laurie's
outstanding collection is full of activities I'm itching to try out.
She includes many activities I have not seen described elsewhere. The
person new to using experiential activities will also find instructions
for some classic activities as well>.
Linda Bickham, Palo Alto, CA

Hi Laurie!
<I was one of your participants in last year's ICF sessions.  I just want to tell you that I am using some of your activities.  I use the Star Wars for teambuilding applications....how perceptions can get the way of achieving goals.  I use the Hoola Hoop for communications and teambuilding.  We have made variations like we get a leader for each hoola hoop group.  This tests the leader's coaching abilities, EQ, and even integrity!  .  Thanks and more power!>
May S.J. Soriano, the Philippines

**Check out my new booklet on experiential activities for trainers: 75 of my favorite activities
learned from years of working as an instructor for Outward Bound Professional Development Programs.
GAMES & INITIATIVES for NETWORKING, ENERGIZING, & TEAM-BUILDING...now available...hard copy ($20) or pdf. file ($15)
Send check to Laurie Geary, 4 Canal Park, PH9, Cambridge, MA 02141;  email request to: laurie@ingearcoaching.com or order at my website: www.ingearcoaching.com
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        More and more people are coming to coaching because they want to find more passion in their life.   People are no longer willing to settle for less than a  totally fulfilling life...and they want their ideal life now...in the present....rather than waiting for some future date or for retirement.
What is passion  and why do we want it? Three weeks ago (issue #62) I wrote about finding your passion; I defined passion as those moments when we feel totally happy, joyful, at peace...focused only on the present moment.  People have said passion is when you feel completely yourself and clear that who you are and what you are doing at that moment is right.  Others describe passion as moments of ecstasy and bliss.  Why wouldn't we want this all the time?
In that newsletter issue, I gave the Top Ten Steps for Finding your Passion.  Many of us want more passion in our life, yet there seem to be impediments to taking the necessary steps.  If we can identify what gets in the way of finding our passion maybe we can begin to reduce these blocks in order to pave the way for our ideal life filled with passion.  There is no better time than now...the beginning of a new year...a new century...to create the life we want.  What are your blocks?

<<Top Ten Blocks to Finding Passion in Your Life>>

1.  Attitude:
        Our belief system tells us that finding passion in our life is not possible.  We believe this is an unrealistic or unattainable goal...or we believe we don't   deserve to have passion in our life.   Other's negative belief systems can influence us also.

2. Fears:
        *Fear of Passion:  for some people passion implies lots of intensity and is therefore scary; they are afraid they won't be able to handle passion.
        *Fear of the Unknown:  Finding passion means making changes in one's life which always takes us into the unknown.. out of our comfort zone...
                so we naturally resist this move forward because it is uncomfortable...and we don't know what will happen.  Many of us feel that it might be
                better to be in a comfortable, predictable situation than risk discomfort with no guarantee of finding passion.
        *Fear of Failure:   None of us likes to fail or make mistakes.  We can get frozen in action because we don't want to fail.
        *Fear of Success:  If we go for our passion, we might succeed!  Success usually means making changes...and any change incurs a loss.  We have
                to be prepared to give up some things in order to add things to our life.  What are you prepared to give up to add passion to your life?
        *Fear of Rejection or Loss: When we decide to make major changes in our life, it usually impacts people around us...and they may not like the changes
                they will have to make...We then are faced with losing these relationships...or being rejected by them.  This can be a hard choice in order to pursue
                our passion.

3. Lack of Reserves/Resources:
        If I want to pursue my dream of writing a book ...or building a business...I will need time and money to support myself..Do I have reserves of time and         money?  Do I have the resources I need? (eg. support from other people....information)...If I identify a passion (learning to ski or ?) do I have
        the reserves/resources to do it?

4. No Role Models: I need people to show me the way; I need to be around people who have found their passion and are living it.  If you don't have any role
        models like this, how can you find them?  Some of my role models are my clients....who come to me to coach them to find their passion....and I watch
        them take the action to find it.  Other role models of mine are the participants in the teleclass I am taking on The Perfect Life (see www.aperfectlife.com);   these are people who are committed to finding their passion!  More role models are my colleagues, other coaches, who "walk their talk"..by having created
        a life filled with passion and purpose for themselves.

5. Too Many Choices:  All of us have too many options to choose from...this makes it hard to know what will bring us passion.

6. Too busy...on the "Fast Track"/workaholism:   It's difficult to find your passion if you are so consumed by work that you don't have a moment to get in touch with   what your really want.

7. Personality Type: Conservative? a "Quitter" or "Camper?"...Richard Stoltz, author of The Adversity Quotient, identified three types of people: Quitters, Campers,    Climbers.  His basic premise is that it is through adversity that we find passion/excitement and grow/develop.   Our personality type can hinder us from
        finding our passion. The big question: can we change our personality type?

8. Low Self Esteem:   We don't think we deserve passion..or that it is possible for us to find it.  For lots of articles/information about building your self esteem,
        see my newsletter archives at my website: www.ingearcoaching.com

9. Too many Tolerations...no space to create our passion.  Tolerations drain our energy (see newsletter issue # )and thus keep us from being able to develop and        live with what brings us passion.

10. Habit: Sometimes we just get stuck in our daily habits....which are like a groove in a record or a rut in a muddy road...which we can't seem to get out of..
        How can we develop new habits that bring us passion?
 

(copyright - all rights reserved: Laurie Geary, 2001)

Next week: How can we reduce/minimize these blocks?
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Recommended Tasks

1. Come to my new teleclass to discuss Finding your Passion NOW!  This Wednesday, January 17th @ 9pm EST
Register @www.teleclass.com or email me.

2. Reduce the blocks to finding passion in your life...Today!

3. Read one of the books mentioned below.

4. Go to my Website www.ingearcoaching.com for back issues of my newsletter on the <Top Ten Steps to Finding Your Passion>
        and  related topics <taking risks, building self esteem, becoming assertive...and much more>

5.. Call or email me for a complimentary half-hour COACHING session to support you in Finding Your Passion!
        Voice:617-494-1422;  email: laurie@ingearcoaching.com

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Recommended Reading: (on finding your passion)

<End the Struggle and Dance with Life> by Susan Jeffers
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN/0312155220/gearupforsuccela

<The Adversity Quotient> by Richard Stoltz
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN/0471178926/gearupforsuccela

<I Could Do Anything If I  Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What you Really Want and How to Get It> by Barbara Sher
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN/0-440-50500/gearupforsuccela

<Getting Past O.K. - A Straightforward Guide to Having a Fantastic Life> by Richard Brodie
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN/0-9636001-0-9/gearupforsuccela

<Capture the Rapture - How to Step Out of Your Head and Leap into Life> by Marcia Reynolds
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN/0-9655250-0-7/gearupforsuccela

<Finding Flow - The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life> by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN/0399515631/gearupforsuccela

<The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People> by Stephen Covey
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN/0-671-70863-5/gearupforsuccela

<Bright Ideas for a Better Life> by Joanne Schlosser
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0-9668294-2-5/gearupforsuccela

<Take Time for Your Life: A Personal Coach's Seven Step Program for
Creating the Life you Want> by Cheryl Richardson
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767902076/gearupforsuccela

<The Portable Coach> by Thomas Leonard
on the art of being Selfish...reducing Tolerations..and the other principles of attracting what you want into your life.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684850419/gearupforsuccela
 

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 UPCOMING TELECLASSES:

<Finding Your Passion>   Free!
Wednesday, January 17 @ 9pm
For more information or to register go to www.womensu.com or www.teleclass.com
also...
<The Perfect Life>
Wednesdays @ 8pm for 6 weeks, beginning in January, 2001.
Register at www.teleclass.com or www.theperfectlife.com

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UPCOMING LOCAL WORKSHOPS:

BE A PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL COACH
*Boston Center for Adult Education
 Thursday, January 18, 2001-6:30-9:30pm
also, Tuesday, April 3, 2001
*NSCC, Wednesday, February 28th, 9-3 p.m.

RISK-TAKING: THE PATH to PERSONAL GROWTH
*BCAE -6:30-9:30 pm.- Thursday, January 25, 2001
also Tuesday, April 10, 2001
*NSCC: Wednesday, February 21, 2001, 9-3pm

BUILD YOUR SELF ESTEEM WITH THE 8-A SYSTEM
*NSCC: Wednesday, April 4, 2001, 9-3pm

ATTRACTING WHAT YOU WANT IN LIFE
*Middlesex Community College - Saturday, February 24th from 9 to 4 pm

Boston College/Brown University Alumni Clubs: Career Networking Night
CREATING BALANCE IN YOUR LIFE
Thursday, February 8, 2001

MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) Staff Training
Beverly Hospital
Thursday, March 22, 2001

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