Abstract:

You’ve probably heard me ranting about this before: Entirely too many folks conflate passions with purpose, to the point where “Find your passion & purpose” becomes a search for the exact same thing. This always makes me wince a little.

Your passion, or multiple passions, and purpose are certainly related, they’re not the same thing. In this video, I’ll show you why this is so important.

Your mission is to learn why your passion is not your purpose.

Task 1: What’s a passion and a purpose?

A passion, thanks for asking, is anything that lights you up. I never tire of pointing out that a passion is not any fleeting interest. To qualify as a passion, something needs to truly fill you with joy and make you forget time.

Passions are not dependent on how talented or good you are at them. If you love doing it, it’s a passion. Also, passions can be arts and crafts, but also sports and hobbies, even fields of study. You can have just one main passion, or several, which might even change in the course of your life.

A purpose, in contrast, isn’t something you do, like a hobby or a job. Your purpose is the “Why” behind your passion, the reason behind it all.

Task 2: Why is the distinction so important?

It’s important to make the distinction because it’s possible to lose a passion, but never a purpose. For example, if your passion is a sport and you have an accident that’ll prevent you from ever playing this sport in the future. Does that mean you can no longer fulfill your life purpose?

No, it doesn’t. Because your purpose is the Why behind why you love this particular sport, it doesn’t have just one expression. In fact, for every purpose there are several different way of expressing it. Some might be jobs, others voluntary work, others further passions and activities.

If your entire life is aligned with your purpose, you’ll feel true fulfilment.