I had to discover a passion for retirement because I had worked all my life at something that I was not passionate about. I understood that in order to discover a passion I had to understand who I am. Figuring out who I am was not complicated, but it required time and effort. It took a lot of mental work, the hardest kind of work. It took a lot of experimenting and trial and error, the scariest kind of work. But almost anyone can do it. You don’t have to be a monk, priest, philosopher or psychologist. You don’t have to have a college degree.
source: Satisfying Retirement: Discover Your Passion: Know Who You Are.
The above quote comes from a fellow blogger Bob Lowery over at Satisfying Retirement a few days ago. It was a guest quote from Boyd Lemon. I was very surprised that it didn’t get the usual number of comments for that site. Several things in the post struck me as almost profound in their wisdom. Particularly the quote above. Sometimes I write a post that I think has at least at some level a profound message only to see that it gets a minimum of views. I don’t understand why?
As I have faced lately, I have finally come to admit that I was probably in the wrong profession throughout my corporate years. I blame the indecision to admit that early on and do something about it at least in part to a lack of guidance counseling in my high school years. I went to a very small high school in the 1960s so I understand the lack of guidance. I hope that is not the case today but I fear that it is.
One of the most profound responsibilities that a parent has is to help their child learn their ingrained passions and talents early in life. If appropriate counseling is not available in the school system then it should be sought elsewhere. When a person is passionate about what they are doing they are much more likely to make a difference in this world and isn’t that what most of us end up wanting? To make a difference.
But of course I realize that most teenagers think they know it all and would probably resist this type of guidance. Forming young minds is probably the most noble of all professions and guiding them to listen and learn about their compassion is one of the most critical things that you can do for a person.
It is not that I didn’t have a fulfilling life in the occupation I ended up in but instead it is more of a road not taken type of thing. I will always wonder if I had recognized earlier on what I felt strongly about if it would have been even more fulfilling?
Thanks Bob for doing the guest post that got me to thinking about this….
RJ's Corner 
I did read this post, but it served more to reinforce what I’ve already learned, and am working on, then leave me with something new. My most revered (and I really do revere it!) book on this topic is Ernie Zelinski’s “The Joy of Not Working.” Everything I need to know about living a joyful life in retirement is in that book. I can tell Ernie has read some of the same books I’ve read about living in the present based on the terms he uses on occasion, which I appreciate as well.
In my case, I need to do something slightly uncomfortable, like running farther or faster than I really care to, or working harder at a task than I wish, or going against my basic selfish nature to be there for someone, if I wish to feel that release of joy and passion that doing so delivers. Whenever life gets flat, I know it’s because I’ve stopped working to raise the bar on my own life. So darn simple, yet so darn easy to forget.
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Thanks for the words Tamara. The old physics term does apply here “A body at rest tends to stay at rest”. If we don’t push ourselves then we don’t grow. If we don’t grow then we are not truly living. One deep part of my nature is that I get bored easily. Therefore I try new things and embrace change on a regular basis. But I hadn’t discovered this in my early life; it had to develop over the years.
We should all try to do something uncomfortable at least once a week. It helps us look over the top of our boxes. LIke you say “so darn simple but easy to forget”.
BTW. I am enjoying your thirty day in-one-place vacation reports. For the first time in my 25+ marriage we spent an entire week as Mesa Verde National Park last year. My wife said I couldn’t stay in one place that long but I proved her wrong. 🙂 Maybe someday I will try a month long one like you are doing…..
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