Running Low on Passion? Time to Refuel!


By Shary Hauer


When was the last time you were really excited about something in your life?

Where you walked around with a grin of big joy, pulsed with tons of energy, felt buoyant, lifted?

Surely, each of us has experienced moments of passion. Great flows of pure enthusiasm, where time, responsibilities and worries are suspended. When nothing else matters but what or who you are immersed with at that moment.

But, what about now?

Are you there parts of your life in which you feel passion-less? Are you drifting? Or, feeling stuck?

Is your energy waning?

Do you get frustrated when you realize that some of the wants and dreams you have for your life go unfulfilled? Refueling Your Passion for Leadership and Life Many of my clients are in various stages of a passion "re-boot". Some are going through mild forms of "blahs", others feeling semi dis-engaged. Like sprucing up a tired, outdated family room with a fresh new coat of bright paint and sexy new pillows, my clients and I find ways to reconnect to the sources of energy that bring them brightness and meaning again. For me, when I'm feeling cranky and un-inspired, I know that I've allowed my "creativity tank" to get too low. So, I schedule "Creative Dates": Stroll art galleries or an outdoor art show, talk to artists, go dancing, create new programs with colleagues, write, write, write. Like a transfusion, my soul is restored with vibrant creative juice.

When it comes to feeling low on passion, there is likely a common denominator:

We've probably lost connection with our inner spirit. We've strayed from our heart's desires. We're so busy, we've crowded out our soul's voice. How sad.

The Power of Full Engagement for Executives
When you think about it, we really are spiritual beings in physical bodies, yet we pay little or no attention to our spirit. We exercise at the gym and run, keeping our PHYSICAL self in shape. We spend at least 99% of our day working out (vastly over-working) our MENTAL self. And, it's safe to assume that in some ways, our EMOTIONAL self takes a ride around the block during the day, too. But, what about our SPIRITUAL SELF? The spirit that knows what you love, what you're passionate about? The spirit that knows precisely your greatest talents and gifts? The spirit that knows exactly your deepest purpose and what brings you most the most fulfillment?

Top 10 Questions to Help You Renew Passion
If you are running low on passion in some part of your life, this month's Leadership Briefing gives you Top 10 Questions to help you refuel. One of the best anecdotes I know to reconnecting to your heart's desires is to schedule a "personal retreat"--- to get still for an hour, reflect and respond to questions like these. The power of inquiry is always telling--- it invariably opens the door to something you didn't realize about yourself or forgot about. Even though I've answered question #10 before, today my response surfaced an entirely new direction. Isn't that interesting? I hope you take time to remind yourself of what your spirit already knows. May you be illuminated by your inner wisdom and inspired to take action.

1. What kinds of people, activities, interests give you the most energy?

2. What are your UNIQUE TALENTS--- the strengths, gifts that are uniquely yours? (list all of your strengths, including personal, professional talents)

3. What gives you the greatest joy, satisfaction and renewal in your life?

4. What does your heart long for?

5. If you only had the guts, you would:

6. What would you be doing if you had all the time, money and energy you needed?

7. Imagine that your local bookstore is reducing its inventory to one category of books. If it were up to you to choose the single remaining genre, which one would it be?

8. If you could try three new and different jobs over the next year, what would they be?

9. Imagine that you were meant to teach others three things in life. What would they be?

10. If you were allowed to make one powerful, positive change in the world, large or small, what would it be? Take the Passion Quiz: Passion is the Key to Extraordinary Leadership Performance How about checking in on what motivates you in your work? This Triple P Quiz from my colleague David Batstone is a quick way to gauge what drives Your Purpose, Your Passion and Your Profit. http://www.triplepquiz.com

Acknowledgements: Passionate Self-Development Experts
I feel immense gratitude to the many teachers who have shared the power of deep inquiry. The questions above are inspired by:

1. Exquisite Life Coach Cheryl Richardson who shares in this month's issue of Body Soul Magazine, http://www.bodyandsoulmag.com, questions 7-10 above.

2. Martha Beck, Life Coach and author of Finding Your Own North Star http://www.marthabeck.com

3. Alan Cohen, spiritual teacher and prolific author. To this day, I still turn to my worn and torn copy of A Deep Breath of Life: Daily Inspiration for Heart-Centered Living. http://www.alancohen.com

Shary Hauer is the founder and Head Coach of The Hauer Group, Inc. She is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) of high-achieving, high-potential corporate executives who aspire to lead their organizations and lives masterfully. As the Executive Potentialist™, Shary guides leaders and their teams in cultivating positive behavior change tapping all of their potentials. For the past 10 years, Shary has coached several hundred global executives throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America and Europe.

Visit http://www.thehauergroup.com.


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Management Information:

Related Articles

Experiences of Management Coaching (Part 2)
In our experience, we have found that there are several reasons managers fail to get employees to see and acknowledge that they have a problem.They assume.
Outsourced Learning: Are You Ready for Learning BPO?
As the business world enters a period of hyper-competitiveness, every business process will be subjected to examination and possible restructuring. We have already seen outsourcing and offshoring used to an extent what nobody would have dreamed of a few years ago.
Four Ways To Make the Case For Outsourcing
How do you convert outsourcing leads into clients? You may need to make the case for outsourcing."Businesses today are kicking into survival mode," says Bill Allison, managing director for the Pacific Southwest Management Solutions & Services Group at Deloitte & Touche.
Meetings and Road Trips
Managing a meeting is like setting off on a long car trip with friends or family. You need to plan your route, pay attention to the rules of the road, consider what will keep your passengers engaged and occupied, and always remember you have to get back home at the end.
Well-Defined Processes - How to Create
Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money and stay in control? Business professionals can learn how to create well-defined processes with the easy-to-manage Process Approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act.Real Tools for Real Business ProcessIn MBA courses, students come across a lot of buzzwords and the theories behind them.
Your Organization Is Only as Good as Your People
Let's begin by singing the jingle from an old US Army commercial. Ready? Sing! "Be all that you can be, in the Aaaaarmy.
Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part Two)
In the first part of this two part article, I talked about the importance of character in leadership. After all, the best leadership involves the people bonding with the leader in deep, human, emotional ways.
Get Down With OCP: Evaluating DBA Job Applicants in an OCP World
Not long ago, weeding through DBA applicants with a tech interview was a straightforward process. You'd ask candidates 200 or so technical questions.
The Idol-Makers
The end of the television season in May included the usual array of cliffhangers on shows like "Alias," the departure of Noah Wylie from "ER" and the finale of the highly-rated "Everybody Loves Raymond" after 210 episodes. On the last day of "Sweeps," more than 29 million people tuned in to see the crowning of the fourth "American Idol.
Management to the Vision-Contribution and the Role of Compliance
As a manager our role is to:1. Establish the vision, or our contribution to the vision.
Building the Trust in Your Employees - 12 Easy Tips
In Stephen Covey's great book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", he talks about the 'emotional bank account', where you have to build a credit in your relationship with the individuals who you work with (and everyone else as well!).If what you do isn't 'trustworthy', then all you have done in your gentle listening and asking great and interested questions to build, is to 'debit' your account.
Making Change Work
Shaky FoundationsWhilst over 60% of businesses will be looking to implement some form of business improvement initiative over the next 18 months, less than 1 in 4 of these change programmes will achieve any worthwhile results that are sustainable for a further 12 months post the introduction of change.This brings into focus two key problems:1.
You Cant Afford the Luxury of Disengaged Employees
In today's business environment with increases in staff reductions and rapidly changing roles and responsibilities, it is crucial that all of your team members be fully engaged in the tasks at hand. According to a Gallup survey, 350 billion dollars are lost each year in American companies due to disengaged employees.
Your Biggest Problem in Business? Work Ethic
US Work Ethic Issues and Lack of serviceWell many of us are getting upset with the lack of service these days and no one cares and somehow we have all lowered our standards to the fact that getting good service is not to be expected, but rather a nice surprise if it ever does occur. Many great companies have derelicts, under achievers, cry babies, and people which could really careless and this is causing a rift between the best customers and businesses.
Keys to Feeling Powerfull In An Uncertain World
Life has always been full of uncertainties. Over the last several years with downsizing, bankruptcies, scandals, crime, the economic environment, and the threat of war, people are feeling power-less, fearful, and stressed about their present and future lives.
Eight Key Steps to Building B2B Major Account Client Alliances
Audiences who saw the fabled Broadway musical, Chorus Line, marveled at the intricate timing and seamless interaction of the dancers as they mastered the choreographer's precision steps after many false starts in rehearsal.At the final curtain, the stage is crowded with dancers whose images are multiplied by mirrors strategically placed about the stage.
Managing Group Meetings
MANAGING SMALL MEETINGS: Keep the size of the meeting as small as possible. The larger the group, the more complicated communication becomes and the more garbled the purpose may get.
People - You Cant Make Them What Theyre Not
Many business people and managers are spending too much time trying to change the underperforming people who work for them. They seem to believe that if they train people - tell them what to do or even threaten them with the sack - then the performance level will go up.
Delegate Tasks to the Right Person
SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON: To whom should tasks be delegated? Selecting the right subordinate to do the work is an evaluative process, and managers must be able to identify individuals both capable and willing to handle responsibility.DETERMINING EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY: A careful review should be made of past assumptions about personnel.
Coaching Can Get The Boss In Shape
Who tells the boss that they can improve their management or leadership? How do they look at themselves objectively and identify what areas they can improve and the benefits of doing so?These days many people have become more aware of the need to look after their bodies and their health. Not only do many join gyms or start participating in sports regularly - a number are using personal trainers.