Survival Kit for Stress – Tool # 2

Find Your Life Purpose & Passion!

“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it – every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.” - John D. Rockefeller II

When was the last time you ask yourself: Am I doing what I really love to do?

Or are you simply working hard just to pay bills and once a year, perhaps, go for a holiday with your family to “de-stress” (and come back feeling distressed that you have overspent!)?

Well, if the answer is “yes”, you are not so different from 80 percent of the population.

Sad, but true. Many people living in Singapore and in fact most developed and developing countries do not like their jobs and what they do in their careers. Most are what I call just “occupying space”. They wake up in the morning, travel in the traffic jams to work, push paper and pen around or stare at the computer for the next eight to twelve hours, then go home to their real “life” – their family and home, spend some not-so-quality time there and it’s off to bed until the next day’s routine starts again. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. Decade after decade.

Of course, when workload gets heavy or when pressure comes from above, they get stressed out, even to the point of emotional breakdown.

Well, as you can guess, this is not the case for people who are passionate about what they do and have clarity of purpose.

The good news is: It’s not difficult to transform from a mere employee who’s just working for a salary into a passionate, self-motivated HAPPY individual. In fact, it’s as simple as A-B-C-D. Please note that I say it’s simple, but that does not mean it’s an easy route. It takes effort and commitment, but I assure you, it’s well worth your while as this is your LIFE we’re talking about!

A. Start by ASKing yourself: What do I really want? If you don’t know what you want out of life, whatever you’ve got has to be good enough. Like the Cat said to Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which road you take.”

So, go and sit in a quiet spot and ask yourself these questions: