What a great topic — “Living in passion, purpose and gratitude”! Just reading the phrase evokes a positive and uplifting feeling. How did you interpret the title of this article? Did you read it to mean applying the principles of passion, purpose and gratitude? Or the existence of these principles in the world of work/job? Which did you choose?
How many of us can easily see and feel passion, purpose and gratitude in what we are doing professionally? For so very many people these three powerfully fulfilling principles seem quite removed from their work world. Even the words “work” and “job” connote a sense of “toil” and “effort”. Language is indeed powerful — it shapes our belief system and ingrains it. What if we begin by choosing a different vocabulary for the concept of “work/job”? How about “career”? Or “calling”? Or “service”? Or even “energy exchange”? Our culture teaches us both the language and meaning of “work”. This is further ingrained by our families. We learn that work centers on performance and production. This begins early in life, specifically in school. We learn to be judged and measured. We learn to measure our worth by how we perform according to external standards. This lesson is then reinforced in many ways as it becomes the model for many aspects of our lives, including relationships as well as work. And so goes the negative pattern that eventually colors much of our lives; we learn to live life from the outside in , trying to measure up so we can earn our way to love, approval, status, success, etc.
Dare we even imagine our “work” (career/calling/service/etc.) as an inside out experience? If so, the principles of passion, purpose and gratitude begin to make sense in this context. Does this seem like a lofty and far-fetched suggestion? Might you be thinking, “Oh right — I can just see my company, my supervisor, even my co-workers getting on the page with passion, purpose and gratitude! They coined the phrase ‘starving artist’ for some good reason, didn’t they?!” May I simply point out that there are many very successful and affluent artists as well as many “starving” corporate leaders and business owners. The key here is this; are they living their Doing from their Being? Another way to put this is; are they living their careers from the outside in or from the inside out?
Most of us are taught the following formula: Do (work), then you will Have (stuff), and you’ll Be (happy). This is the outside-in formula. How well does it really work? How many truly joyful and fulfilled people do you know who live their lives from the outside in? The formula of spiritual truth goes like this: Be (who you truly are) and Do (from your Being) and you will Have (all you desire). This is the road to passion, purpose and gratitude in career as well as in all aspects of life!
