Do you know that weird, déjà vu-like “time traveling” sensation? It’s when you see (or hear or even smell) something nostalgic — an old TV show, a song, the scent of a particular perfume, or maybe a specific meal — and instantly you’re transported back to a moment from years ago, as if you never left.
That happened to me the other day when I stumbled upon this particular quote. Suddenly, it was 5 years ago, and I was sitting at my desk at work, knowing with every fiber of my being that I couldn’t keep being here … but not knowing how to get out or what else to do.
I shared the quote on Instagram and Facebook the other day, and it got a lot of attention and feedback. I guess I wasn’t alone in having a strong reaction to it:
“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you’re still paying for — in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” — Ellen Goodman
This was my exact mentality back in 2011, and I felt crazy for thinking this way. No one around me seemed to be that bothered by it, so why did it bother me so much?
IT JUST FELT FUTILE
What was the point of giving so much of my time — my life, if you want to be blunt about it — to something that didn’t fulfill me, inspire me, or actually help anyone?
Sure, I was making money and providing for myself, but I had very little time or energy to actually do anything for myself, anyway! I was working … but to what end?
I had some pretty serious meltdowns about my lack of passion and purpose.
Every existential cliché you can imagine, I was thinking:
- “What’s the point?”
- “Is this all there is?”
- “Maybe I don’t have a passion. Maybe this is as good as it gets.”
It sounds dramatic now, but I was dead serious at the time.
NO ONE WANTS TO LIVE LIKE THIS
I don’t know why I felt so alone. Maybe it’s because I could never have shared these thoughts with anyone I worked with, for fear of being misunderstood or even fired. But regardless, it was ridiculous to think I was alone because:
Literally no one wants to live without passion, purpose, and fulfillment.
A lot of people have become good at hiding their disappointment. A lot of people gave up years ago and sort of settled for what they believed was possible. There are a ton of reasons why someone might be working without passion or fulfillment … but it’s safe to say that no one really wants to.
But it’s not easy to get out of that cycle.
People get stuck because they don’t know what else to do. And in the face of the unknown, the path of least resistance is usually just … continuing to do the same thing, even if it doesn’t make you happy.
AND, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
If it were easy to lift yourself out of uncertainty, you’d have done it by now.
If it were really simple to follow all of the corny advice that tells you to just “follow your passion,” you’d definitely have done that by now.
But you can’t just *magically* figure out your passion. It doesn’t fall from the sky or suddenly appear out of thin air.
There’s a process to it.
And the reason so many people are stuck is because the process is not an obvious one. Like most things in life, we don’t know what we don’t know.
We have little or no awareness of the blocks and blinders that keep us stuck. That’s why change can feel so hard … we’re trying to do something different, but we can’t even see the things that are tripping us up.
We don’t know what we don’t know.
HERE’S WHAT I KNOW, NOW
This isn’t a normal day, or a normal blog post.
Kristen and I made a short video for you, in honor of the things we didn’t know that we didn’t know, way back when. We got a lot of stuff wrong, and we’re hoping that by sharing some of it with you, you’ll be “in the know” about what you … don’t know.
The video is pretty short (well, for us) — about 27 minutes — and goes into the three big things that we got very wrong when it comes to figuring out your passion. (You can access the video by entering your name and email here.)
We made it because, like we said, today is not a normal today.
Today is the first day of enrollment for the Passion Plan Virtual Experience (we just call it ‘The PPVE,’ though!).
It’s a 4-week-long, totally online experience where we guide you through figuring out your passion — and how to take action — in 30 days or less.
There’s a complete page of details, so we’ll only share a few things you won’t want to gloss over:
- The first 20 people who sign up will be getting a free 30-minute coaching session.
- There’s a $50 discount code, good through Friday the 22nd. Grab it (and the free video we made for you), here.
- It’s incredibly affordable. And, PPVE members get deals on future 1-on-1 coaching that isn’t available to the public.
Past PPVE-ers have said, and we quote, “it’s the best money I ever spent” and “this should be mandatory for literally everyone.”
HERE’S TO KNOWING WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW
I think if there’s anything from that quote I shared earlier that still stands out for me, it’s how easy it can be to just … keep doing the same thing, even when it doesn’t fulfill you or make you happy.
The reason Kristen and I are here is to give people a chance to not keep going down the same track.
So, whether or not it’s the right time for you to do something like the PPVE, we hope you’ll still take advantage of the free video! There’s plenty just in that, alone, that can help you get un-stuck.
Watch the free video now, or save it for later.
Here’s to your clarity and passion,
Rachel + Kristen
