Why 5 Passions?

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Chris and Janet Attwood

The Passion Test helps you discover your top five passions. Why five?

There are several reasons. The first is that when Janet first conceived The Passion Test it was after hearing about a study of the 100 most successful people in America. She was told that those hundred people had one thing in common: they all already had the five things that were most important to them.

Janet thought, "If successful people know and have achieved the top five things that matter most to them, then if I can get clear about what my top five are, then that will be the first step on the path to my own success." Makes sense, right?

Since then we have worked with Dr. Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman, neuroscientists associated with the University of Pennsylvania and authors of Born to Believe. They told us that the brain is wired in such a way that it cannot maintain more than 5-7 things in awareness at one time. Therefore, if we know that what we put our attention on grows stronger, then it makes sense that we would want to be clear on the 5-7 things that are most important to us so that those are the things we put our attention on.

And then from a practical perspective, as we have given The Passion Test to many thousands of people, it's been clear that even for people who think they know their passions, they often have only clarified one or two things they feel passionate about. As a result, some things that are quite important to them may get forgotten. This is the reason Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles and co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul said this after going through The Passion Test for a second time:

"When I did the work on discovering your passion with Chris and Janet in a workshop, I wasn't expecting that much to happen because I am already living my passion -- teaching others about how to become more successful.  However, their powerful process took me to an even deeper place, where I realized I was not spending enough time with my true number one passion -- my family!  That realization, and the other work they did with me, has changed the way I have lived the past year."

Today's Tip for Following Your Passions:  Once you've identified your top five passions, be sure to score them as described on page 40 of The Passion Test book. Your scores will tell you where you have been putting your attention up until now. The passions with low scores are things which are really important to you, but need to be more a part of your daily life.

2 Comments     Comments

Queen RA, Central Los Angeles , September 24, 2008 at 9:34 AM | Reply Having My top 5 Passions keeps me on track to match my "actions" with my "Passions" When I do that things start to happen very quickly- sometimes I have to stop to just "catch up" I love this passionate life!

Dusty Niles, Bend, Or , September 22, 2008 at 11:12 AM | Reply The great thing about "5 passions " AND scoring is often we are lower in certain areas and higher in others. Life can be consumed by the areas that are not scoring high. We create; fear, worry, shame and everything in between around the areas that score lower. Sometimes the things we worry most about rate very low on our list of passions, if at all in the top 5. This realization can be a cause for celebration. Take an outside look at ALL of your passions and be grateful for how much you do have.... CELEBRATE! The economy today is creating challenges for many. These challenges are of course opportunities. If finances or your career is a low score, THANK GOD... There is something better awaiting.... CELEBRATE! A low score is nothing more then a reminder of where AND what kind of attention to put on what it is you desire. The Passion Test to me is a simple system to remind you to celebrate life and keep pushing forward toward all that wish to have now and in the future.