I talk a lot about how important it is to be led by passion. I do so because passion is the compass toward your destiny. If you wanna know what you should be doing with your life, your passion is the best indicator there is. Whatever you feel passion for was placed inside you for a reason. That reason is your divine purpose.
I don’t want to take for granted that some of you have yet to identify what your passions even are, but I do know that we all have them. So, if you are someone who has just been going through the motions, coping just to survive, and haven’t had the chance to connect with your inner desires, this message is especially for you.
What is passion?
Passion is something you feel about another person, a concept or an object.
Passion is somewhat mysterious, because it’s not something you can control. You are in essence, born with passion and at different life stages you might develop others. Passion might develop out of an experience or new, useful information gathered.
Passion then, is a strong feeling of affinity, connectivity and desire. In other words, you feel so strongly about it that it’s as if you’re divinely aligned. Your passion for someone or something will drive you to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do… because the feeling of passion is anything BUT ordinary.
Passion is categorically a positive experience, so you are not likely to feel passionate about something that is harmful to you. As you seek to fulfill your passion, there will be life’s ordinary pangs. And there are times when persons are moved to commit harmful acts as a result of their passion. An example of this is a crime of passion. Passion is also productive. So for example, someone with interest in race relations might use their passion for racial equality or social justice to affect political change.
Passion can be related to any area of your life, whether personal, professional, spiritual, emotional or physical.
To identify what your unique passions are, take a look at the following signals and think of the people, scenarios and activities that invoke them:
√ It burns or overwhelms you. You can almost feel a burning or heavy sensation in your chest area when you think about, or are exposed to it. If you’ve ever been in love, I’m certain that you’ve felt that overwhelm in your chest area for the other person with just the mention of their name.
√ It seldom does away. If you have a special project that you want to complete, but you’re not doing anything to complete it, your chest area burns ever so often with a nagging desire to do that thing. I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is it’s probably never going to go away, but the good news is you’ve identified something most people spend their lives searching for – fire and desire.
√ It’s often random and baseless. If you find yourself looking at YouTube videos about the rain forest, sports cars, cake making or gardening, for hours on end, or you’re always tuned in to CNN because you want to know the latest in politics or economics, that’s something that you have a passion for, even if it’s not your area of expertise.
√ It makes you braver and bolder than usual. Ordinarily, I let people live their lives and make their own decisions. I really hate to “tell” people what to do. But you know when I will tell or strongly suggest what needs to happen? When an elderly person is at risk. I grow a special set of cojones when I’m in my role as an advocate for the elderly population. And I really don’t care who I offend. What are the issues that activate your superman syndrome?
√ You’ll forsake other important things just to pursue it. This sign is a strong component of romantic passion. When we are in deep passionate love, we have a tendency to put that person before all the other people in our lives. Another example is my current desire to grown my business, which has caused me to forsake shopping, hanging out, and with corona’s help – travel. Though travel is a passion as well, entrepreneurship and wealth are even bigger passions. So what do you find yourself prioritizing over other things and people?
√ It’s a guaranteed good time. No matter what’s going on in your life in that season, no matter who is around or what you felt like before you started, once you indulge, you feel MM MM GOOD! For me this would be comedy, music, food, nature or a good book. Where is your happy place?
… And last but not least.
√ It scares you. Sometimes passion is scary. We’re not all comfortable with experiencing strong feelings that seem like they will snatch us up off our feet, and make us lose our natural minds. It’s why so many are afraid to fall in love, or why people with big ideas bury them. If you have an idea that’s so big or bright that it scares the bejesus out of you, you’re so fortunate, because that’s the ultimate passion – the one that will cause you to impact the world!
As usual you guys… It’s been super real and passionate!
Intentionally Yours,
Juanita Michelle
LMSW | Personal Mastery Coach | Lifestyle Blogger
Be Bold. Be Free. Be You. Period.