Are You Setting Passion Goals? by Cindy Stradling CSL, CPC

Most people are not passionate about the goals they set at work or in their personal life. They set goals that are expected, including basic production and productivity goals, goals around hours of professional development, or perhaps the annual personal goals of eating healthier, losing weight, and hitting the gym three times a week.

These goals become rote or routine. Just as easily as they are set on New Year or at an annual goal setting meeting at work, they tend to slip out of focus until something pops up, like a quarterly review or a trip to the doctor.

One of the main reasons these goals fall to the wayside is they are not in alignment with our passions. There is no internal motivation to increase your productivity or to eat healthy, but there can be if you tap into your areas of passion and interests.

The Importance of Passion

Passion creates a natural curiosity about a subject, idea, value, belief, or learning opportunity. Passion is more than just a passing interest, it is a deep need to understand more, to take in knowledge, and to experience things that you find interesting and motivating.

When people are passionate about a subject area or interest, they find the time to work on this part of their life. If they are passionate about health, they will get up earlier to walk, run, or go to the gym. If they are passionate about photography, they take courses and learn as much as they can about the art and the science of taking great pictures. They are willing to make their area or areas of passion and interest a priority, and they do not have to be reminded or enticed to do it.

Passion is a driving force that keeps us moving forward. We can be passionate about things in our personal and professional life, and often those things overlap, allowing us to tap into that passion to help us achieve our goals.

The First Steps

The first step in setting goals you are passionate about is to write down your interests and what naturally motivates you to achieve your goals. Then, incorporate those goals into your life, even if they are not work related.

This integration of passion goals for your personal life will create a positive experience. It helps us to remember that goals are not just about work; they help is in all aspects of our life. Aligning our values, passions, and goals personally is the best motivation possible to achieve what we desire.