Recently left school? Or perhaps like most of us high school along with the dreams and aspirations that grew there seem like a lifetime ago. Your living the day in day out you swore you would never allow yourself to live, sure you like it and those ideas of the past are still there, in fact, they have matured, become more realistic perhaps more achievable, but, you've lost your passion.
Passionate people simply resonate an air of confidence and desire, of strong emotion and great enthusiasm for life. They are excited about their chosen career, their family, they are passionate about the cause. Whatever it may be, passion is something I desire in my work my relationships and my life. So, how do I get it and more importantly, how do I keep it?
When asked recently by B & T Magazine about his next step, David Nobay from Saatchi and Saatchi Australia said "Career-wise, staying passionate. This industry can start feeling a bit like ‘ground hog day' after a while. The trick for me is to constantly re-invent the job and your goals..."
So is it a gift, something your born with. Perhaps it's a learned behavior just something only happy people have. No, Passion is intentional.
Ok so I choose to be passionate, gosh, that means the balls back in my court. I have control over my life. You mean I can be passionate if I choose to be? I have to get hungry, desperate even.
On the Wise-women website Shirley Kaiser M.A, A professional and passionate web site designer writes, ‘My impression is that passion in what we do is like adding sunshine, water and healthy soil to a seed. The passion helps the seed turn into something awesome and exceptional. Without passion it might still grow, but it's not the same, either. Passion is one of the results of great love for what we do and who we are.'
Ok, my ideas are still there, my dreams have been revived, my relationship is seeing the rewards as this passion begins to flow into the other areas of my life. So my passion, it's back, I'm on fire but how do I keep it. How do I stay passionate over the course of time. Well, I need to invest into my dreams, contribute time and energy and not depart from the main objective. I need to retain my desperation for the prize even when the going gets tough do not let the romance die. Constantly remind myself that I live for this cause.
Steve Dahl and Matthew Neale from one test recruitment have found that passionate employees are a key ingredient in successful organizations.
"That's fine" you say "when the sun is shining and the cash is flowing freely, when life is good, but I feel faulty, like I need to be returned to the maker. Instead of looking after myself and enjoying all life has to offer I want to eat Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast and drink Vodka till the wee hours of the morning. I look at what's going wrong not what's going right, I remember the TV line up of every channel every night rather than the view out side and the smell of the fresh air as I'm walking. I spend my day procrastinating over the ‘to do list' and blaming it's still being there on anybody who dares to interrupt my important business, including those most precious to me who by now have taken to destruction to gain my attentions.
I am clouded and out of focus and it is affecting everything in my life. So I need to regroup and get back in focus. I have to determine to stay focused, because this is life and life is full of disappointment.
Shelly Taylor-Smith, seven time world champion marathon swimmer, international best selling author, business trainer and success coach has overcome considerable misfortune including partial paralysis and chronic fatigue syndrome to now encourage and teach others that getting to and staying at the top is about remaining as passionate as you were when you 1st began the journey.
You have the passion for the cause but you are full of loss and bad attitudes. Recent studies have suggested that 70% of employees today are less motivated than they used to be, 80% could perform better if they wanted to, and 50% put forth only enough effort each day to keep their jobs. We need to stay strong and not lay down no matter how bad it looks. There is something we can do because there is power in resolve. There is power in fixing something and settling a matter. Think on the load one carries when there is a corkboard of outstanding bills. Whether they are personal or business related, the pressure is on, the angst that this pressure causes in the household or work places is huge and if we are not careful innocent parties can carry the burden as we take our frustrations out on those around us. Settle the outstanding monies and the pressure is gone. There is power in resolve.
It's somewhat the same in our relationships. The University of Melbourne deems the management of difficult relationships in the workplace and study so important they run sessions and counseling services about dealing with these situations and have devised strategies to resolve them.
So you've lost your passion there is nothing better than the realization that you can do something about it. Get desperate, get hungry, get passionate and put the smile back in all levels of your life.
