Adam RicoAn essential component to finding your passion is to know what you value in life.
Knowing your values is crucial because your values determine your priorities and your decisions.
Babak Fakhamzadeh via Compfight
If you’ve never taken the time to sit down and figure out what you truly value in life it’s difficult to know what you’re passionate about.
If everything’s valuable then nothing is valuable.
People who are clear on what they value and why are those who are passionate about something.
Nelson Mandela is an amazing example of someone who was clear on his values and his passions.
When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island for 27 years he never allowed his passion for ending apartheid in South Africa to die.
One of the many obstacles Nelson Mandela faced was the restriction that he and the other prisoners on Robben Island were not allowed to interact except for one place.
The guards would not go with the prisoners into the cave the prisoners used for a toilet.
Yet that was where Nelson Mandela and his fellow prisoners discussed the future of South Africa and the goal of ending apartheid.
Nelson Mandela valued equality so deeply that he was able to keep his passion alive even in the midst of horrible circumstances.
Now that’s passion.
How Do You Know Your Values?
Recently I’ve been going through John Maxwell’s valuecard (not an affiliate link) exercise with people I work with.
This has been an amazing tool to help people great very clear on their top five values and how those values shape their priorities and decisions.
Although most of them intuitively knew they valued a number of things in their lives they had never really clarified it to this degree before.
When I did the values cards exercise I determined my top five values are:
1. Faith
2. Family
3. Wisdom
4. Growth
5. Integrity
However, just knowing your values isn’t enough.
You have to take the next step.
3 Steps To Take With Your Values
Step 1 – Know your values. Order the set of John Maxwell Leadership Value cards (not an affiliate link). Then go through the exercise of choosing your top five values.
Step 2 – Determine how your values are connected to your passions. Which of your values gets your really excited? Angry? Sad? Emotional? Which of your values can you see yourself thinking about and focusing on all day every day? For me that value is growth. I get energized and excited thinking about my own personal growth as well as helping others grow.
Step 3 – Then the third step is connecting your passion to your paycheck. How can you monetize your passion? I’m pretty passionate about each of my values, but the value of growth is one value I strive to incorporate into my work. The others are there as well but they don’t necessarily lend themselves to providing income.
When your values are the foundation for how you serve others you will connect with your passion.
When you know your values you’ll have a level of clarity about your life most do not possess.
We need more people who are clear about what they stand for.
Who are clear on what they value in life.
You and I may have different values but we can agree that knowing them will fuel your passion.
