Pursue Your Passion TODAY

Passion - an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction

Do you live your life with passion? 

I'm willing to guess that most readers would say "no". Why is that? Why do we settle for living a life void of passion? Usually life with its responsibilities, challenges and disappointments cause us to squash the passionate side within.

My challenge for you is to remember that thing that consumed you before responsibility, challenges and disappointments stole its hold on you. That thing that excited you about the future. That thing that stole sleep from you at night. That is where your passion lies.

 Here are three tips to live a life of passion: 

1. Discover or rediscover your passion.

Think back to your childhood. Can you remember what you were passionate about? What you could spend hours doing without feeling lonely? What you felt proud of achieving? I'm willing to bet that is where your passion lies. As you grow up, sometimes you feel overwhelmed with the responsibilities of life. But no matter how busy you are, I challenge you to always find an interest outside of your responsibilities. 

You can also discover your passion by simply saying "yes" to trying new things. Regardless of your age or how big or small the challenge, keep trying new things. Trying new things will broaden your perspective and you will gain experience, wisdom and character. You never know if you like it or if your good at it unless you try it.

2. Let your passion captivate you.

Once you’ve discovered your passion, give it all you’ve got and get to know it inside and out. Read books, take a class or get a mentor. Let your passion become a huge part of who you are. Let it become your identity. 

When it becomes your identity, it will become something you feel proud to call “your interest”. It will help build up your self-image and self-esteem. Your eyes will light up when you talk about it and you'll  feel energetic and enthusiastic about it. Even when your body is tired, your heart will tell you to keep going.

3. Be willing to make mistakes.

Living a life of passion will require you to take chances and be willing to take risks in the face of uncertainty. It is often said that the best teacher is failure, and we can learn from mistakes. As the saying goes, no risk, no reward. We can do our best to make calculated decisions to limit the risk, however mistakes are inevitable. Roughly paraphrasing Dave Ramsey, if you’re going to make mistakes, make sure to just sprain your ankle, not break your leg. Yes, you can more easily heal after a sprained ankle. But be willing to experience a broken leg as opposed to not experiencing any injury at all.

Our passions are meant to be discovered, pursued and used. They were never meant to lie dormant or be hidden under a rock! Pursue your passion now. You'll be so glad you did.

Please share your thoughts on living a life of passion. I'd love to hear them.