Ever feel like your energy and drive in life is filled with peaks and troughs? This week has been rather turbulent for me with a few different ups and downs. Some song lyrics by the amazing Dave Matthews reminded me simply about something we forget from time to time: having passion in life.
Passion has so many dynamics and can be applied to so many things, with each one often overlapping and spreading to others. The joy and love for life that accompanies passion makes me wonder – why is it that we lose this drive sometimes?
For me, approaching life with fun, zest, passion and love is so fundamental to being happy! Although passion often refers to the smashing together of lips in the frenzied passion of lovers, this same passion and drive can be applied to so many other areas of our lives.
The first time I saw you was like a punch right
through my chest.” ~ Dave Matthews, “baby blue”
Why not be more passionate in our approach to work? To food? To money and finance? How about our fitness? Being passionate in our relationships certainly heightens our appreciation for living. Having more passion can help us appreciate our senses, our bodies, our lives a whole lot more. It can help us have a greater appreciation of our role in the world, recognising where we fit in.
So why is it that we fail sometimes?
I believe it has a lot to do with living in the minute rather than having that broader vision of life. Worrying about things that are of immediate importance to us takes away our passion, our energy. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be concerned by the here and now, just not to let it take over your life, and certainly not your love for life! Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture, I guess you could say.
Help! I want my passion back!
To be honest I think the answer to maintaining a passionate life is similar in some ways to the reason why a lot of people go to church every week. You don’t need to go to church to be a Christian, but there’s a lot to be said for being reminded regularly about certain topics, and hanging with like-minded people.
In the same way, to approach life passionately and retain that zeal, drive and focus, we need to be reminded regularly about it’s benefits and importance, make a decision to live our lives with passion, and listen to like-minded people (both in real life and in the form of books, movies, web sites etc).
What do you think?
I think I often focus too much on the small details in life and ignore the bigger picture. I tend to forget why I am taking a particular step and how it will benefit myself and others in the long-term. Taking time out, meditation, expressing gratitude and giving to others are some of the things I do to help me get my passion back.
carla | green and chic´s last blog ..Poll: What are you doing?
@Carla – Hey there, thanks for your thoughts carla.. Sometimes it’s good to take a breather and just say “hold on – how bout all the good things that are going on?!” It’s almost like we need to remind ourselves to not take ourselves so seriously..
I’d not really given much thought to ‘passion’ before reading this and I’m not sure why. But as you encouraged me to think about it … first idea that came to me is passion is when I give 100% to what I’m doing.
Maybe that’s why it’s so often associated with intimacy – making love is an activity where it’s hard not to give 100% (for me anyway!). As you say, that kind of attention, drive and energy is available in everything we do.
Ian | Quantum Learning´s last blog ..Heart of business
@Ian – Hi Ian, thanks for visiting…. Incidentally, interesting post you have written on the heart of business. I particularly like this line:
“Before anyone writes to tell me that they couldn’t have been venture capitalists because of x, y and z … I’ll just say that I have little idea what a venture capitalist does, it just sounded good.”
Back on topic – I love how you refer to passion as giving 100%. I really think you’re spot on here, it’s about giving all we can to as many areas of life that we can.
Very interesting article.
I believe if you have passion for something or someone it is usually always enjoyable and reciprocated.
Passion is one of the elements for success.
Keep up the enthusiasm and Dave Matthew’s rocks!
bunnygotblog´s last blog ..Advertising Towards Dummies
@Bunny – Hi there, thanks for visiting… Passion certainly leads to feelings or actions being reciprocated, good point. I really do agree that success and passion go hand in hand…
And regarding Dave Matthews –
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