From Anger to Passion
In my book Living for the Weekday, I share my thoughts on how employees can contribute to a culture of engagement in travel around the country speaking about the topic, I discuss the need to find contentment in five areas of life … including spirituality. I’m amazed how often people squirm in their seats when I get to this point in a presentation.
Perhaps some people squirm because spirituality is a word with many meanings. It’s not my desire to change anyone’s definition of spirituality, but I do want to share the definition as I see it fitting into the five areas. For me, it’s about figuring out your bigger purpose (the reason you’re down here), and commiting to a cause greater than yourself. I shared that definition in a presentation not long ago, and a man approached me after the presentation and asked, “How do I figure out my bigger purpose?” I suppose there may be plenty of people who struggle to find that answer.
A friend of mine suggested a book to me a while back. The book is titled Holy Discontent. With that book as an inspiration, I suggested to the man in the audience the following … figure out what makes you mad. Is it that children are going to bed hungry in your community? Is it that we have an abundance of resources in our country yet we have a homeless epidemic with people who do not want to be homeless? Is it that young children who have done nothing wrong are abandoned, abused, or neglected by their parents?
The moment you figure out what social injustice makes you mad, and then commit with enthusiasm your time, talent, and treasure to helping cure that injustice (becoming a part of the solution instead of just complaining about the problem), you have found your bigger purpose. From there we can convert our anger to our passion. From there we can know we have committed to a cause greater than ourselves.
Clint Swindall
© 2015 Clint Swindall — Clint is the president & CEO of Verbalocity, Inc., a personal development company with a focus on leadership enhancement. For information about how he can enhance employee engagement in your organization, please visit www.verbalocity.com, or contact him directly at clint@verbalocity.com.
