How to Charge up Your Passion with the Triple Bottom Line

Today, I’d like to encourage you to apply the tripe bottom line to your passion. This will help you create better goals and might even make you happier! Woohoo!

But first,…

In this post, the “triple bottom line” relates to a concept that I first heard from author and speaker Dawn Clark.

To me, it seems like a super-simplified, individualized version of the accounting frameworkwith the same name. The phrase “triple bottom line” was coined in 1994 by business writer John Elkington who recently proposed to fine-tune it. (You can read more about this in this article.)

A Medium writer describes the “triple bottom line” as

“a framework for looking at a business’ output (for example, their net profit) with three lenses: social, environmental and financial. To put it in a more catchy way, to evaluate a business’ success by 3 bottom lines: ‘profit, people, and planet.’”

Now, you might find yourself wondering…

 In your personal life, the “triple bottom line” test reminds you to look at three different levels to create balanced life goals. This helps you exercise your passion in the most beneficial way.

Simply put, whatever you want to do, ask yourself if it’s

- good for you,

- good for others, and

- good for the world. 🌍

By keeping both your interests and the whole in mind, you can ensure that you do not choose to exercise your passion in a way that is good for those around you but not good for you .

(For example, if you love helping others with their finances, you might continue to do that without ever asking for any compensation. Depending on the situation, this might be good for others but not good for yourself.)

You also make sure that you do not pursue your passion for primarily egotistical reasons.

While using our limited life time in this way is important for many reasons, it even makes sense from a purely egotistical perspective. According to a study, compassionate goals, unlike self-centered goals, predict reduced distress in individuals and create a virtuous cycle of support.

With all that being said, let's move on to...

Grab a pen and paper. 📝Then, take a moment to go through the following process.

(If you want to get the most out of this or if you're afraid of getting stuck, get the "Taking Action Worksheets" and begin by filling those out.)

• Pick one of your goals
  For instance: “My goal is to have 500 followers on Medium."
  
  
• Answer this question: "How is reaching this goal good for me?"
  For instance: “I would feel better about my own success as a writer. I would earn more from Medium's Partnership program. More people would find out about the work I do."
  
  
• Answer this question: "How is reaching this goal good for those around me?"
  For instance: “My partner would be proud of me and happy for me. I could better help my friends to also be successful on Medium."
  
  
• Answer this question: "How is reaching this goal good for the world?"
  For instance: “More people would see my articles which might inspire them to create positive change in their lives."
  

If you have found something that lights you up, ask yourself if (and how) you can exercise it in a way that is good for you, good for others and good for the world.