In the last blog we talked about helping our clients with assessing passion by coaching them around energy, dreams and values. Our passions define what is most important to us, what we really care about, and what we energetically pursue. They’re urges that compel us to dosomething. Passion for justice is what led Wilberforce to get slavery outlawed in England. A passionate desire to show mercy kept Mother Teresa working for a lifetime in the slums of Calcutta. Without the dynamism of passion, we never engage our calling with the drive and enthusiasm necessary to pull it off.Below is a basic set of questions for assessing passion you can have a client do to start the conversation.

Have your client take five to eight minutes to complete the assessment. If they don’t know how to answer a question, or would have to dream up an answer on the spot, have them leave it blank. This isn’t a test where we they supposed to get the answers right: you’re just trying to determine what they already know for sure about their purpose.

1.What is your core passion in life?

2.Have you ever made a list of life dreams? If so, name two or three dreams either from that list or ones you’d put on it if you had one.

3.What are two areas of your current role that energize you, and two things that drain you? Were those easy or difficult to think of?

4.Have you ever written out a set of personal or leadership values? If so, state two.

5.How well does your primary role align with your core passions and what energizes you? What would need to change to make it a great fit?

Tony Stoltzfus is a best-selling author, leadership coach, master coach trainer and director of the Leadership Metaformation Institute. Additional information on this topic can be found in Tony’s book, The Christian Life Coaching Handbook.