What’s Your PQ?

Have you ever wondered what turns an ordinary day into an extra-ordinary one? What transforms a dull monotonous routine into an exciting and thrilling experience that you look forward to every day? What sets Excellence apart from Mediocrity? What sets fulfilled, accomplished and happy people apart from whiners and strugglers? One of the less talked about and much less celebrated quality that can change the way you perceive things, the way you contribute and interact with your environment (at home or at work), and the way you impact the outcome is the PASSION that drives your actions. How passionately do you feel about what you do?  How intensely you feel connected with your environs? How much do you enjoy the day to day? How would you rank your ability to find joy in little things?  All these questions can directly impact your likelihood of success in your chosen field and life in general.

Some of the top rated and most talked about qualities that are said to bring success to your career are – Strong Communication skills, Confidence in Decision Making, Accountability, Self-Presentation, Time Management, Positive Attitude and likes. (All of which, by the way, are purely functional skills and have nothing to do with your level of technical/educational expertise, the college you passed out of and how much knowledge tank you’ve built-up over time.)  I 100% agree that all of these skills weigh heavily on bringing you to the forefront for recognition and help you become the obvious choice for moving up the corporate ladder. Passion, however, is the fuel, the force and the inbuilt trait that invigorates who you are, what you do and how you feel! It is one factor that sets you aside and make you the obvious choice as a leader, a trend setter, a ‘go to person’ and as someone people look up to when they are having a bad day or stuck in a situation where they need a pull. Passion is what makes you want to jump out of your bed every morning to look forward to the day!  Passion is your ability to lead a fulfilled life, passion is your source to enjoy little things and little celebrations! Passion is your internal reservoir of sustainable energy, it is what keeps you going when the going gets tough, as it always will every now and then! Passion is what draws people to your conversations and make them listen to you. In other words passion is what brings you closer to a fulfilled, realized, successful day, career and life!

One can hire the best skilled and most knowledgeable workforce but lack of passion towards what they do can completely change the outcome. A product or a service does not live in silos, it is an outcome of how people who work on it feel about what they are building & pushing out the doors. I have seen many of my friends and acquaintances in one of the best jobs and coveted positions but hardly ever enjoying what they do. To them glass is usually half empty. They are constantly looking for fulfillment but do not know how or where to find it. Drifting in to work which do not align with your passion can slowly drain you out of energy and compromise your effectiveness. That’s why it is so important that every so often one must ask oneself, what are you most passionate about? What work or activity gives you greatest joy? What are the things that fire you up and motivate you to do more, to achieve more and to be more? Once you have identified where your passion lies and you have put it to work, it will kindle the fire that will keep burning on its own!

What sets you apart from others and make you fulfilled and accomplished about who you are and what you do is the amount of passion & childlike sense of curiosity you bring to each day. What is important is for each of us is to figure out what is the passion inside of us that will drive us to become the very best we can be. At the end of the day, it is not your IQ (Intelligence Quotient) but the PQ (Passion Quotient) and CQ (Curiosity Quotient) that will take you to the pinnacle of success!

In life and in general PQ + IQ  > IQ. It is your passion and curiosity that empowers you to be able to do that thing you were born to do! Are you ready to take your-self to the next level?