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Finding Your Element
Book

Finding Your Element

How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life

Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica
Viking, 2013
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Editorial Rating

7

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  • Applicable

Recommendation

Confucius said, “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica refer to that happy state as “being in your Element.” In this sequel to their bestseller, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, they offer a nuts-and-bolts guide to finding work that combines your talents and your passions. The heart of the book is a battery of exercises – basically, personality tests – aimed at identifying your strengths and passions. The authors suggest using several boxes of markers to create all the color-coded lists, Venn diagrams and “mind maps.” Doing that work will furnish you with useful résumés of your aptitudes and passions. And, those in turn will offer you a nudge in the right direction. getAbstract recommends this manual to recent graduates, fledgling entrepreneurs and those who are dissatisfied with their current career or life direction.

Summary

Like a Fish in Water

When you live “in your Element,” you will feel as if you have found yourself. Being in your element is about doing something completely in tune with your authentic self, something that feels as if you “were born to do” it. Being in your element means more than doing something well; it means doing something that you love passionately. Locate the nexus where “natural aptitude meets personal passion” to unlock your true potential, and bring meaning and purpose to your activities and to your life.

Finding your element is a three-part process. First, use introspection to uncover your strengths and weaknesses, and to identify what you love and makes you happy. Next, examine your attitudes – the assumptions you’ve acquired about yourself over the years. Some of these old axioms may hinder your quest to find your element. For instance, many people mistakenly assume that they don’t have any distinctive talents or passions. Third, look outside yourself to find the opportunities the world offers to live in your element. In this stage, “try new activities, visit new places and meet new people.”

Key Principles

Keep these three principles in mind...

About the Authors

Sir Ken Robinson, professor emeritus at the University of Warwick, UK, co-authored The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, with novelist Lou Aronica.

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