WHY YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE
A few weeks ago I wrote about WHO ARE YOU. Not who you think you are or who you are supposed to be, but who you really are.
PHOTO NICO CURIA - ALL RIGHT RESERVED
Today, I want to share another profound realisation I had in my life: WHY we are who we are.
It all starts with a passion, something that we really love, but we don’t choose. Our passion is given to us.
Let me repeat that because it’s really important. We don’t choose our passions. Passions are given to us.
We don’t choose with whom we fall in love. That’s why we ‘fall’ in love, because we allow what’s inside us to match what's outside us. In the same manner, we don’t choose to like chocolate (or not), a pair of shoes, a car, a place to live or a job. We either like it or we don’t.
Most of my life I have been doing the things that society has ‘guided’ me to do. Since 2001 I have been running my own businesses. Most of them were successful, but I wasn’t passionate about them. My heart wasn’t 100% in it but hey, who likes to work, we just have to work, right?
Does this sound familiar with respect to your current job, your relationship or life in general?
It wasn’t until I found my passion in life that my life changed forever. You see, I was putting the ladder in the wrong place, only to find out once I was at the top, that that wasn’t what I was meant to be doing. And that’s why I had a constant feeling that there was more to life.
So what happened?
I stopped looking for the next big idea and with the help of my shaman I started to look within. She asked me “what is it that you are really passionate about?” What came up from that conversation was that I should be a life guru.
My first reaction was to crack up laughing because for me, being a guru meant being someone like Osho or the Dalai Lama and how on earth could I be like them!?
My second thought was: “what about all the things I’ve learnt so far? Won’t I be wasting all that time?” I was 40 years old and I didn’t think I could start all over again.
Notice my reaction, my own self-belief, my conditioned mind, my fears were already putting up barriers – because this will probably happen to you ;)
But then a couple of thoughts crossed my mind… I remembered that my closest friends call me “Guru”. I also realised that I am always helping people to see life situations from a different angle, and that’s when it struck me.
I realised that I was passionate about helping other people and that I could do that every day, all day long, for free.
That’s how I discovered my PASSION. I knew that if I could make people feel a bit better after having a conversation with me, my PURPOSE would be served and my life would have MEANING.
To summarise the process, this is what happened…
1. With the help of my shaman I re-connected with my passion.
2. I realised that my passion exists for a reason.
3. The reason WHY I have a passion is to serve a purpose.
4. That purpose is to put my passion at the service of other people.
There is a reason why you are in this life. Your responsibility is to fulfil that reason. If you are not fulfilling your purpose, you are not only wasting your time but most importantly, you are in the way and complicating others people's lives around you.
The best way I found to fulfil my purpose in life is by giving. That was my biggest discovery. When you give, your focus is not on you but on others - parents know what I mean. That's why we feel so attracted to nature: it's always giving unconditionally, regardless of gender, age, religion, or economic status.
Re-connect with your passion (not what you’ve been educated to do). What is your unique gift that makes you so special that the world will miss you if you were not here? Then start sharing it with others. By doing so, you will start living a life that today you can’t imagine.
Why?
Because everything in life has a purpose. Whether it’s human made or natural. An ant has a purpose. A mountain has a purpose. Water has a purpose. Trees have many purposes and so do humans. We are not the exception.
But here is the funny thing… most humans, supposedly the highest intelligence on earth, don’t live a life based on purpose. Ironic, don’t you think?
How do you know if you are living a life of passion and purpose? If you have discovered it, you will know without doubt. When you live a life based on your passion, you flow with life. You feel excited and happy. You know that you are serving your purpose. You feel like you are being pulled and guided to fulfil the reason you are in this life.
If you haven’t, you know that there must be more to life. You know that you are not 100% happy. In the same way that a pair of shoes should fit you comfortably, so should your life. The problem is that you get used to living with a ‘bearable’ amount of pain... until it's not bearable any more and then you buy a new pair of shoes (new job, new relationship, new gym membership... etc.) to make you feel good for a while.
Here are some more pointers to help you start living a life of purpose.
Find your passion, your unique gift that has been given to you to fulfil a purpose. If you would like to live a meaningful life, you need to re-connect with it.
Your passion is of value to others, not to yourself.
The universe will guide you (and has always done) to fulfil your purpose in life. When you are off track, you feel miserable and unhappy. When you are on track, you feel exhilarated and happy.
When you follow your passion you will almost feel like you are being guided by a divine force: it’s called your “higher purpose” or “higher self”.
The measure of your happiness and wealth in life is directly proportionate to the value you bring to others in life.
So, I might not be Osho, or a “guru”, but I know that I’m here to serve a purpose: to help people find their passion and purpose in life.
That’s what I do as a coach and you are welcome to contact me if you want to re-connect with your passion. Nico
Nico.
PS. Let me know how do you feel when you read this?
