The Passion Tree
Here is an insight — doing what you are good at does not necessarily means you are doing what you love.
Finding our passion and following our bliss can be so misleading especially when our minds are conditionally programmed for social acknowledgement and recognition. The habitual tendency to focus on our strength and what we are good at is so strong that we mislead ourselves by thinking what we are good at is our calling in life. Why risk failing and being a fool at something when we can be applauded for what we are good at? It is both a survival adaptation and an emotional security that we only focus on our strength.
This an Upper Limit for success. What served us before, may not necessarily contribute to the next level of success. This means that the shell or outer skin suddenly become too small for the brilliance within us that is yearning to unfold. The Upper Limit concept is developed by Gay Hendricks in his book The Big Leap which reflects to us how we sabotage our successes in order to keep ourselves from taking more risks that compromises our comfort. Reflect on this short article by Dr. Northrup to learn a summarized version of the Upper Limit.
Now the golden question I keep asking myself — “What is the distinction that I have to discover that differentiate Passion vs Pursuit?” How do I know if what I am doing is the passion that reflects the burning desire within me or the pursuit of just doing what I am good at to gain external recognition? Moreover, if you are extremely talented and you are good at everything, how can you differentiate your loving from your living? This inspired me to create The Passion Tree.
The Passion Tree have 4 basic elements of a tree — the root, the trunk, the branches and the leaves. The root represents the fundamental experience of your life that you are all about. The trunk represents the vehicle or the vessel that helps you experience that fundamental experience of life. The branches are the tools, body of wisdom and knowledge, and skills you have developed to supplement the vehicle. The leaves are the ‘how’ that these tools, body of wisdom and knowledge and skills are being expressed.
So how do you use The Passion Tree?
Step 1: List down all the things, activities, credentials, interests and body of knowledge that you have engaged ferociously over the years of your life. Don’t hold yourself back!
Here is my example: Meditation, Astrology, Dance, Movement, Podcasting, Writing, Nature-Connection, Life Coaching, Hero’s Journey, Education, Buddhist Psychology, the LifeLine Technique, Entrepreneurship, Music, Singing, Rites of Passage, Trauma Studies, Compassionate Inquiry, Human Potential Movement, Human Performance, Kundalini Yoga, Health, Nutrition, Bouldering, Movies, Documentaries…
Step 2: If you are going all out, what you will get is a list of undifferentiated activities and interests. Now here is another important insight to receive — everything in life is interconnected and what you are looking for is always in the present moment, right in front of your nose, so close that you are less likely to be aware of it. As you look into all these things you had engaged in, “What is the common element shared amongst all of the elements in the list above? What is it about life that you are fundamentally looking to experience?” When you notice what that is, this is your Root of your Passion Tree.
Here is mine: To activate the greatest potential living within me as bliss and to create opportunities and experiences for others to experience that.
I discovered that I light up with burning desire every time I hear a story or experience for myself the process of choosing something 100% and never back down from it because I loved whatever I was engaging in the moment 100%. What is it about Life that lights you up?
Step 3: Draw a Tree that has Roots, a Trunk, Branches and Leaves so that it gives you a visual representation. Draw 3 lines that separates the roots from the trunk, the trunk from the branches, and the branches from the leaves. It is time to go back to grade school or kindergarten where we play mix’n’match with the list we just had. You don’t have to use all you got from the list.
Here is mine:
Root: To activate the greatest potential living within me as bliss and to create opportunities and experiences for others to experience that.
Trunk: Movement and Dance, Human Potential Movement, Health and Wellbeing.
Branches: the LifeLine Technique, Astrology, Life Coaching, Compassionate Inquiry, Hero’s Journey/Monomyth.
Leaves: Podcasting, Writing, Movies, Documentaries, Rite’s of Passage, Education and Performance, Entrepreneurship, Meditation, Kundalini Yoga, Nutrition, etc.
Bottom line, all that you have listed are your passion and this exercise continues to create subtle distinctions within your passion so you don’t get to overwhelm with your interests and distractions. With this, you create a clear imagery of what to focus on as the main element you are developing in your life.
Your time, energy, attention and resources are always limited and you only got one life. When you can focus on the trunk and supplement what is needed to build a strong trunk with the intention of your roots, you create a powerful core and foundation for your passion to thrive. A certain amount of concentrated energy for a certain period of time is needed for your passion to prosper.
