Living Your Bliss-cipline, Where Your Passions and Talents Dance Together

Life is short. Events such as Steve Jobs’ death remind us that we have a limited, unknown number of years on this planet. Even if you believe in some form of eternal life, the fact is that your current “skin bag” will reach the end of its useful life in the near future.

So, how will you choose to spend your remaining days, months, and years? If you’re like me, you exhaust way too much time in everyday drudgery and activities that are not even close to your passions. Heck, they’re not even in the same BALL PARK! Even if you hate doing these tasks, they seem, at the time, to be more urgent and necessary than the things that are more joyful. According to Stephen Covey and his time management quadrants, these activities are urgent, but non-important (e.g., interruptions, distractions, “fire drills”). Worse yet, you might be spending far too much time in procrastination activities (e.g., trivia, time wasters, social media, busy work), which Covey labels as non-urgent and non-important. Ugh!

What if you could wave a magic wand and suddenly be spending all of your time being and doing what love? Not only that, what if you could also be being and doing what you are great at: your “blisscipline”? Several years ago, I heard Rev. Michael Beckwith, in one of his talks, use this term. It has stuck with me ever since. Your bliss-cipline is the synergistic juncture of your passions and your talents – your sweet spot. How do you find this sweet spot? By simply assessing where you currently spend your time, within one of these four quadrants, and focusing as much of your time in Quadrant 1, your bliss-cipline.

Quadrant 4 - Drudgery
This is the area of your life where you do what you dislike and what you’re not good at, aka “drudgery.” Mowing the lawn falls into this category for me. My ex-boyfriend used to laugh at the cross-hatch designs that I carved into my lawns each summer, especially the small, random tufts that I missed. No matter how much I might try, I will never be good at mowing the lawn, and I don’t care. Why? Because I hate it. This quadrant also includes the fire drills, errands, and distractions that you allow to interrupt your day AND your play. According to Covey, many of these activities are ones you can either delegate or delete from your schedule.

Question: What activities do you dislike and are not very good at?

Quadrant 3 - Your Talents
This quadrant contains the talents and traits that you’re good at, but that you don’t necessarily love. For example, I’m very good at math calculations and analysis, which made me very successful in corporate America. However, I’ve never been passionate about numbers, which is why I never became an investment portfolio manager, no matter how talented I am in this area. These are activities that you can delegate or simply decline when asked to do them.

Question: What natural gifts and talents do you have that are not your passions?

Quadrant 2 - Your Growth Opportunities
These activities are passions that are not your natural gifts or talents. These are areas that inspire you to learn new skills and gain experience. For me, writing is not a natural talent, although I love to do it. So it’s a growth opportunity for me. You might choose to spend more time in this quadrant as you learn and explore your passions.

Question: What passions do you have that require additional experience, training, or growth?

Quadrant 1 - Your Bliss-cipline
This is the Bliss-cipline Quadrant, which contains your greatest passions that are also your greatest talents. One bliss-cipline of mine is public speaking. Not only do I love inspiring an audience, I am also very good at it. I believe that a bliss-cipline is a signpost to your life’s purpose and how the Universe expresses itself divinely and unique as Y.O.U. The more time that you spend in your bliss-cipline, the happier you are and the more you are able to share your gifts in the world.

Question: Where do your passions and talents intersect?

The key isn’t to avoid drudgery as much as it is to identify your passions, your talents, and to spend as much time as possible in the areas where they intersect. Any given day, job, or activity may have aspects of all four quadrants. Instead of resisting activities that are not your bliss-cipline, try focusing your intentions and attentions on the ones that are. “What you appreciate appreciates,” goes the adage. Then learn the arts of delegation, saying “No,” and time management (a la Getting Things Done, a favorite book of mine).

Your mind, body, and spirit will thank you. So will the world. Happy Passioneering!