About Being Passionate

"One of the first signs of being depressed is that you lose interest in things. That's why I think it is important to stay passionate." ~ Nicholas Cage

The word passion is keenly enticing and brings along many individual visions when it is uttered. In it's many definitions, the word always centers around one core issue: the heart motivation behind whatever action is being motivated. Because February is generally a month closely affiliated with heart-based motives, I thought you might appreciate some discussion about passion.

If you are working to Be the Change in some part of your life - in relationships, in family, at work - then passion surely plays a big role, because if you can bring your passion to the table, you can guarantee your success.

I realize there are a lot of flash-in-the-pan types of passion, but they fade away quickly and soon are completely dissipated. I'm talking about the kind of passion that can be maintained over the long haul. I'm talking about the kind of passion that has sureness backing it up. This kind of passion is a slow, bubbling burning that goes on inside of you and it occasionally becomes visible to others. It's always visible to you!

I like to think of passion as the deeply-felt, deep-seated emotion also called conviction. It's your decision to make the relationship work, to have a harmonious family, to succeed in your career, to buy that special wardrobe, to take those excess pounds off. When you are passionate (or convinced) that you will by gosh and by golly actually accomplish what you've set out to accomplish, then you know the task will never fall by the wayside, forgotten or ignored.

It takes a high level of both willingness and of energy to accomplish passion or conviction. It's helpful if you share your passion with others. It helps you stay on track and it helps to keep the necessary energy flowing. Passion is often associated with the word love, and although in this article, we're not talking about sexual passion, let's see how love fits in.

What do you love to discuss?
What do you love to read?
Where do you love to travel?
What business ideas do you love to share?

These are the things you love, the things you are passionate about, and sharing your loves, your passions, are helpful to both you and others because they bring more good to light.

Don't look to find passion outside of your own Self. Seek for it within. Look for places in your relationships, your family, your workplace where you can add passion so that more good will appear.

I challenge you this week to find more passion by trying this experiment: make a conscious effort to listen more attentively (with passion) to someone in your life. You will have to take the focus off yourself and place it on them to accomplish this. I suspect this could bring new benefits into your life and allow that other person to know that you approve of them. And approval is one of the most practical forms of love.