So as we move into September, the Living Sublime Wellness community focused on passion and purpose. Passion and purpose… You might be thinking, “Passion and purpose of what?” or “How might passion and purpose be related to a health and wellness coaching blog?” Let me take the time today to point out some information that shows these concepts are very much linked together.

If you are new to this blog, you might be feeling a bit lost. “Why is she talking about passion and purpose? Where is the nutrition and exercise stuff?” On the other hand, if you have been reading and quietly following for some time, you could share with the new reader: “Living Sublime Wellness is all about healthy balance. There are many, many parts that go into a whole “well” being”.

And you are exactly right. One of my core beliefs as a health and wellness coach is that being healthy does not just mean eating right. Being healthy is not only about going to a gym and lifting weights or running on a treadmill. Being totally well, holistically well, means that each part of your overall self is in a state of health and well-being.

Ok, so what does passion and purpose have to do with this then? “I understand and hear you on the “healthy balance” stuff, but what about these words: passion, purpose? How do they fit in?” Great questions- and I have a very simple answer. Passion and purpose are just the “words” that I chose to describe the topic at hand. What we are talking about this month is really along the lines of career health. Are you satisfied, happy, and healthy within your role as a professional? Do you LOVE your job?

Eeks! This may cause a couple of people to shift in their chairs. This may bring a sense of discomfort to the discussion. “Love my job? Happy and satisfied? Ugh, I don’t know… but I’ve got to do it anyway… right?” WRONG!

Yes, everyone needs to work. I agree we need to get paid so that we can live in a home, eat food, and pay our bills. So of course, we need to work. But what I am suggesting is that we do not work for the stance of NEED; we work from the stance of passion and purpose. We LOVE what we do.

In a meta-analysis done in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the correlation between job satisfaction and health was performed on numerous levels. They found significant correlations between job satisfaction and burnout, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety- obviously the less satisfied you were with your job, the higher your levels of these uncomfortable experiences.

Further, in an interview done on ABC radio with Cary Cooper, Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom shared his research on this topic. The two discussed the link between job satisfaction and health, how having a lot of stress at work can make us sick. They spoke about how many people have unrealistic workloads which negatively influences their health and their relationship with family and friends.

Cooper suggests: “I think what people ought to do is say I am unhappy, I am getting ill, I can see all these funny symptoms that Cooper talks about, what I have to do is identify what is the source of it, what is making me unhappy? Am I in the wrong job, am I working too long hours, do I have a lousy boss? Figure out what your problem is and then think of the options of dealing with that problem. Look at all the options, do a cost benefit analysis and the option that gives you the most costs and the most benefits and the least cost is the option you ought to take and then take it, get out if it’s about getting out.”

Keep coming back this month for more and more articles on your passion and purpose. Even if you are someone who is happy where you are currently at- you can always take the “beginner’s mind” approach and see what else you might learn.

What about you? How do you see your career as linked to your health? Have you had experiences that were clues things were going well or poorly? What can you add to this post and share with us so that we can all learn from each other?