Embrace Your Passions Allow it To Guide You

In the simplest of definitions

Passion is what motivates us to do the things we love. Passion is that inner fire that fuels one to act allowing one to do amazing things in life. Passion is fueled by the relationship we have with our own emotions (feelings) and a reflection of the core values one holds to be true. This is after all what shapes’ one’s character. But without action, passion alone will not get the ball rolling. There’s a misconception that motivation is passion. But research shows that motivation follows action. Motivation triggers passionate energy and connection with one’s inner emotions of feeling happy. Meaning: You don’t need to feel good to get going, you need to get going, to give yourself a chance at feeling good. (Read that again if you need to) That emotion of feeling good, that’s passion. That’s when you get motivated to get out of bed in the morning, chase that feel-good feeling. When you have passion for something, you feel better about what it is you do, it stimulates your creativity, and most likely you will go above and beyond the call of duty putting in the extra effort.

Life Requires a Firm Foundation

The core values one holds true act as a firm foundation building one’s character and to shape your being. Instead of allowing outside influences like society, media, or pop culture to shape the person you become, lean into what core values are important (in all aspects of life ) and build these values into who you are. When you hear someone say they have a strong character, what it really means is, they are consistently living their values. This foundation of core values is central to what makes you, uniquely you. Doing the right thing even under all the stresses it may bring, and doing the right thing even when nobody is looking, that’s living true to your values. When living life uncomplicated, having no preconceived agenda, you live a life authentic to your true self. Your happiest when life is consistently in alignment with your values because when it’s not, it can throw one off balance. In the English language, there is a term “talk the talk, walk the walk”, meaning a person should do and support what they say, not only with words but with action. The expression and consistent action of practicing one’s values is one of the most critical components for trust, which in turn is the basis for building relationships. Hence, when you may feel you don’t trust someone, what that means is, your core values are not in alignment.

Follow Your Guiding Compass

“Change is the only constant” we know to be true. Turn to your core values to light the pathway to a more meaningful life purpose, one filled with many passions. Like a house that needs a good foundation, defining your values and beliefs and aligning more of your life with these values, not only helps orient one’s life but helps one feel more grounded and is what ultimately makes one the happiest. Values that are important provide the basis for one’s actions, decisions, and behaviors. These values can include; integrity, accountability, fairness, time, respect, diligence, preservice, adaptability, awareness, balance, truth, acceptance, love, community, compassion, wellbeing, creativity, and discipline. Some of the values will act both as a foundation and compass as one navigates the changes that come across one’s path throughout life because, without it, one can quickly lose a sense of purpose and direction.

Alignment of Core Values Drives Sense of Purpose

If passion is what motivates us to do things we love, then aligning these with one’s core values gives your life a sense of purpose. As life changes so do our passions, so it’s important to understand your WHY factor. It’s your reason of WHY you do things, it’s your deep reason for being that connects with your values, passion, and purpose. Passion deals with emotions of feeling good, purpose is the all-encompassing reason behind them. Purpose is the foundation upon which passion is built. Deciding what’s most important in life and prioritizing your top values helps find your purpose. Purpose is focused, and most times long-term goals that will help bring a sense of fulfillment and meaning to one’s life. We follow passions because it feels good and we enjoy them. When your living in alignment with your values and integrating your passion into what you do it drives your sense of purpose, and then you get excited and unstoppable.

What is it that makes you come ALIVE?

As children we are taught to grow up, get a career your good at, go out into the world, (be realistic) and get a job that puts food on the table. Instead, what we really should be taught is to find happiness in what makes you come alive. Find your passion and purpose and determine what you really want out of life. The first step is taking charge of your own happiness and discovering what really gets you motivated to act. Truth is, it’s never too late, you are never too busy or timing inconvenient to find and discover a new passion. The process of exploring your passions is part of what makes life fun. As you go through life exploring it’s important to get in touch with things that ignite your purpose so that you can start living the life you have always wanted. Your passion is fueled by your actions and helps form your personality, while purpose is the why of who you are, both, which are equally important for navigating this journey called life. It’s your purpose that inspires you to act, and without action, there would be no passion. Without passion and purpose, we would live life aimlessly without any direction.

Follow Your Passion not the Money

Follow your passion, not the money, is advice I would give anyone on their life journey. Truth is, in the world we live in, while you do need to make money, giving time to your passion and still being able to make a living is possible in today’s world. All it takes is action. We know that following one’s desires, and loving what you do leads to a greater sense of wellbeing and happiness. So why be anything but happy? Often times choosing to chase money comes at the price of not being able to do something you love and look forward to doing every day. Which doesn’t make one very happy. As humans we also tend to underestimate the value of our time and that we have “all the time in the world” to do things. But the reality is, none of us know how much time we have. Time management as a core value is considered one of the cornerstones to building momentum in life based on what you achieve with it. Embracing your passions and leaning on your core values, guiding whatever it is your doing in life, helps prioritize goals, keeps you on track taking dreams to reality. And avoids the feeling of “being forced” to doing something “just for the money” ultimately leading to a more balanced, happier, authentic life.

As I dive deeper into this topic I ask: