How To Manage Passion

Finding your passion is one of the most important things you can do in life. It is also probably the hardest thing, as it requires you to look within yourself for what you love doing and then pursue that like crazy.

It is very easy to get distracted by more popular passions – creating blogs or businesses that are heavily marketed or getting swept up in the momentum of other people’s success with them. You may even feel pressured into adding these products onto your shelf if you want to be seen as an expert in their field!

Finding your true passion takes longer than finding the next Facebook fad. It will not quickly burn out because it does not appeal to the money or media world around it. It is instead something internal - something you feel rather than something you think about.

This can be tricky at times. When you feel passionate about something, you might subconsciously avoid looking for it because you don’t want to waste time searching for it. Or you could focus too much effort on trying to ignite your inner passion so strongly that you stop seeking out experiences that can easily distract you from it.

This can create more void when you eventually find your passion, which can hurt long term engagement and motivation. Even feeling that “passionless” urge to engage in a non-passion activity can sometimes be enough to start exploring new areas or channels of interest.

Develop good habits

A lot of people have successful careers in this country that don’t look very passionate or even like they are having fun at work. I’m talking about those who spend their days sitting in front of computer screens, going through the motions of doing their job while eating lunch meat and cheese off their desk because there is nothing else in the office.

Or maybe you worked for a company that was so focused on making as much money as possible that you never experienced any kind of success until your department was outsourced and it became clear that someone else would be handling all of the workload.

After paying excessive amounts of income tax every year, investing little if anything in educational opportunities for yourself, these individuals will retire empty-handed. They may feel some sense of shame about how they lived such an isolated life, but most likely not more than the person next to them who had similar experiences.

It's important to remember that no one ever made it big by putting in zero effort. You can't expect to reap the benefits of your hard work if you're not willing to put in the same amount of energy. - Joni Evans

I'm speaking from experience here. When I first started working full time and then later part time, I didn't know what I wanted my career path to be. All I knew was that I loved writing so I kept publishing whatever I could find the time to do.

Be optimistic

Let me start by saying that having passion for your career is great, but being passionate about something else is not. If you are constantly looking forward to working overtime because of how much money you make or wishing that you had another position so that you could earn more credit towards your retirement savings, then you may need to reevaluate what things matter most to you.

Are you spending time with people who make you feel good? Are you giving back to community groups in your area? Do you keep learning new skills that can be applied to your job? All of these things contribute to a healthy work-life balance. They help you feel relaxed and happy, which makes it easier to put in extra hours at the office.

You will also have to bear in mind that opportunities do not come easily in this industry. You have to go after them, and if you don't, you'll be leaving potential success behind you. - Sam Miller

Held against the early 2000s standard, where employees expected higher pay raises and better benefits, today's workers seem even less enthusiastic than ever about their jobs. A February survey conducted by TheJobOzzie found that just 17% of respondents were engaged at work, down from 21% last year. And only 9% were extremely motivated, slightly down from 10%.

"The majority of professionals I speak to feel stressed and overworked," says Anthony Yeung, CEO of Vistat, a social media management app.

Make it a priority

It’s easy to get distracted by all of the things in your life that you want, need, or feel obligated to do.

Making passion a top priority can be difficult at times. You may need to make changes in how you organize your time or what tasks you choose to prioritize over others.

It takes effort to focus only on projects and activities that matter to you, but in the long run, this will allow you to enjoy your life more.

You won’t feel like you are wasting your time because you chose to spend yours doing things that mean something to you. Plus, you’ll save money free from quitting jobs you no longer enjoy.

Make changing priorities tough.

Connect passion with outcome

One of the biggest reasons why people get into trouble is because they lose connection between their passion and an intended goal or outcome.

Many people who enjoy spending money do so because it makes them feel good about themselves. They spend money on expensive clothes, cars, and jewelry that add to their self-image.

Other people may enjoy eating food not because of how healthy it is but because they like taste and texture. They eat foods they don’t necessarily want to be healthier, but instead it is just another way to satisfy their appetite.

There are many things we can be passionate about and this is what makes us happy. But if we use our passions as an excuse for doing things that hurt other people, waste resources, or take advantage of others, then we have lost connection with our initial purpose.

This is very difficult to do because soon enough, someone else will push back, which brings in new challenges. This is where fights often start.

Focus on the process

In addition to having a strong desire or passion for something, you have to be able to motivate yourself to do it. Just because you want to watch your favorite show doesn’t mean you will if you don’t like the next episode more than the last one.

You need to feel that you’re moving in the right direction towards your goal. And you can’t just hope things go well; you have to work hard at it.

That means before you start doing what you wanted to do, you have to make sure you’ve practiced your skills outside of school already!

And remember from earlier in this article about how important it is to enjoy what you are doing now, so why not practice some strengths? Find activities that help you gain strength in other areas and add them into your schedule.

Once you've done that, then it's time to focus on the process instead of the end result. The process is much bigger than the sum of its parts, and that goes double for developing talent.

Celebrate progress

If you notice yourself becoming overly passionate about something, try celebrating it instead of criticizing it.

Celebrate your success when you finished doing that thing!

You are soooo close to completing your goal! You’ve made such great strides today, why not celebrate with some dessert or coffee?

It is also important to recognize when you have lost momentum. When you stop engaging in your favorite activities, give them time to re-focus. Don’t feel bad if you need to take a break, but remember, we all need breaks from things that can get us overexcited.

Take a few days off and then slowly add more time into your schedule to ensure that you don’t lose track of your dreams.

Disclaimer: This article shall not be construed as medical advice for any condition nor should it serve as a substitute for professional medical treatment. For serious health conditions, seek appropriate medical help from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider.

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Commit to hard work

If you want to achieve something, you have to be willing to put in the effort to get there. This can mean investing time into it, investing money into it, or investing energy in it.

If you don’t invest enough of yourself into things, they won’t succeed no matter how much money you pour into them. In fact, studies show that overinvesting is one of the biggest reasons why people fail to reap the benefits of their efforts.

This doesn’t just apply to business projects, but anything from starting a new relationship to achieving personal goals like quitting smoking or running a marathon.

By having too many limitations, you prevent yourself from fully engaging in what you are trying to accomplish. You might as well not even try!

Don’t expect to win if you aren’t bringing your all to the table.

Learn to prioritize

As mentioned before, passion is about prioritizing things in your life that are important to you.

It’s also important to recognize when it’s time to let go of something that no longer brings you joy.

You will have times where you feel tired or burnt out from working on one project for so long, but then you’ll come across another opportunity that sounds more exciting than what you've got going on right now.

If you find yourself struggling to choose between them, maybe it's better to pass on the new challenge at this moment? Or even consider whether these two projects are truly worth investing your energy in.

It could be that you're just not passionate about them both enough to carry on working on them, or perhaps you'll burnout before you reach the final stage. Either way, know when to push through the wall and invest some time into something else!

Budgeting can help you focus on what matters most by giving you clarity around how much money you have available to spend. By setting aside limited resources for only those things that matter, you'll learn how to manage your spending and keep track of what costs have been covered.

This article will talk you through several easy ways to manage your passion. Read on for more tips...