Now that we are well on the way to identifying our passion, what happens once we do? There has to be a follow-through. It is like when Eliud kipchoge discovered his passion for running. He was running bare feet. With time his passion led to excellence and opened doors for him. At this point, he could afford to buy good running shoes that were a good fit for his feet. Why didn’t he buy expensive gumboots or moccasins instead of running shoes? because those would not have supported his passion for running. I am sure he has other good shoes that he wears when he’s off the running track. During the INEOS 1:59 challenge, they even made a shoe (looks like a sneaker version of the platforms that our parents wore to the club back in their heydays) to enhance his performance further. For your passion to come alive it needs to be executed in the right environment. It has to fit like a glove.
In the halftime process, we refer to the right fit as context. The most ideal environment for you to impact using the combination of your passion, gifts, talents, and experiences. I have not yet arrived at my ideal context but I’m not far, I feel. Thanks to the digging I’ve done over the last few years, I now know that my future is in public service. My mission is to use my speaking and influence to positively impact people’s lives and communities. I will need a platform to fully activate that. That’s what is missing now. I long for the day my ideal platform will be revealed. Where I can play out my perfect role for the second half of my life. This blog forms part of that journey. Sharing stories with you guys is a form of public service and it gives me great fulfillment.
So how do you find the right fit? I wish there was a shortcut. For most of us, it will take a long time as we test-drive various modes of transport to take us to destination purpose. In that period, we should attempt to narrow down our options to what aligns with us best. I believe the process is equally important as the outcome. So far, I have tried various interests and opportunities that looked like they could lead me to my desired life of significance. Some were a hit but fizzled out shortly. Others were a miss from the get-go.
I’m now clear that I need to exit my business and I’m not keen on starting another enterprise. I pursued one opportunity at the leadership of a national sports union and I loved it kabisa even though we were being paid with parking and mandazis during meetings. It was voluntary but I had a good time doing good things for golf and my country. That confirmed that my right fit is in joining an organization whose objectives align with my values and passion.
Folks the season of figuring out our right fit may seem endless. The people I’ve read about living out their purpose spent some years figuring out what significance looked like for them. So be encouraged guys for we are being prepared and approved in private for our ideal moment. Let’s not give up on the preparation for if we do then we abort the mission. I’m in that zone of feeling like I’m stuck in the preparation because it’s been five years now. But I feel closer to my destination now than where I started. Perseverance is key in the quest for your true north. On a scale of 1 – 10, how close are you to your desired life? what does that life look like? sometimes visuals can be encouraging. Dream kidogo.
Another consideration to make is the time factor. We’ve touched on that above. For anything to manifest it has to be given time. Time for an idea to ripen is like water to a young plant. You have to keep watering for it to grow. At this point ideally, you should be watering the option that has surfaced as your right fit.
How much time do you have to explore the right fit? and how important is it to you? corona has given us all time we never thought we’d have at our disposal. I hope and pray that when this pandemic is over we will have narrowed down our options on what we want to pursue. We better be watering the right passions and not weeds that resemble our perfect role. Do the digging folks, and do not tire for soon we will find what we are looking for. Or it will find you. And you will get to live the life you were created for. How cool is that?
Again, if you’d like us to go deeper on this, I’ll be happy to be your transition coach. Inbox me at lucas@lucasmaranga.com.
Great one Lukas,,, It’s only me who can stop me from becoming who I can be. As the foot grows big we continue to find the fitting shoe , as the Swahili adage says, “hujafa hujaumbika.”