Since 2001, my work has focused on helping people create careers and lives that energize and inspire them. So what’s the deal with the headline of this post? How could I be falling out of love with passion???
Well, perhaps it’s not so much that I’m falling out of love with passion per se (my definition of passion: The energy that comes from bringing more of YOU into what you do). I still think passion is as important as ever.
It’s really more that I have fallen out of love with the almost manic focus on having more passion, more happiness, more, more, more!
Somehow the idea has developed that we need to shoot for a 100%, Mach 10, All-Fabulous-All-the-Time Life.
And that would be great if it had the slightest thing to do with reality.
But it doesn’t.
Whether you’re looking at your career, your relationships, your health, or any other area, life is a series of ebbs and flows. Sometimes it’s up, sometimes it’s down.
The self-help world’s insistence that everything stay Up creates the impression that if you’re not jacked through the roof in Up mode, something is wrong with your life. Or worse, something is wrong with YOU.
Maybe it’s more accurate to say that my love is expanding. Yes, I’m still head over heels about passion, and happiness, and all those lovely states of being. But I’m increasingly seeing the need for it all to be built on the foundation of decidedly less sexy ideas.
Ideas like being present in the moment. Like gratitude for what you have. Like accepting and even embracing what is, however challenging. Like learning to love your situation exactly the way it is. And learning to love yourself exactly the way you are.
One of the most limiting beliefs I see out there is the dichotomous view that we have to either madly scramble to improve, or sink into the mire of stuckness with a less than preferable situation.
That’s complete crap. Here’s a different take on it. You can both aspire to improve and learn to occupy your current situation fully, compassionately, with love. One doesn’t negate the other.
In fact, learning to occupy the present moment more fully, fighting it less and accepting it more, makes more room for the improvement you aspire to. You’re not wasting so much time and energy struggling and resisting, which means you have more to put into the changes you want to make.
Take a look at your own life. Do you see any either/or beliefs around growth and change versus accepting and embracing what is? If so, what impact does that have? Could you explore taking a both/and approach to it?
I’m not likely to stop talking about passion, or happiness, or being energized. But more and more I’m seeing contentment, grounding, and a proactive acceptance not just as a way to plug an energy leak and eliminate a source of discomfort, but as a way to create the space for your pursuit of growth and goals to thrive.
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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst TM