Is It Passion For Or Passion In

A few years ago, people had very different ideas of what it meant to describe themselves as passionate. Some would use the word passion to describe something they are doing right now that they feel strong motivation to do, like watching your favorite movie you have watched hundreds of times.

"I'm so invested in this film that when I watch it, I forget about everything else."

That's how some define passion. They think that if they can identify things that make them emotional then they must be passionate.

But there is another way to define passion. This other definition comes from psychologist William James who described it in his book The Principles of Psychology back in 1890. His theory goes against the common thinking at the time which was looking at passions as powerful emotions that take over you.

He believed that true passions are activities that you engage in out of interest, not out of emotion. You enjoy performing these actions because you want to, not because you get excited.

These types of passions are only slightly motivating. They're not enough to keep you actively engaged in an activity, but once you've gotten into a rhythm of practicing them, you'll still feel relaxed after you've done so.

This relaxation happens because you learned to practice your passion with ease. You got used to doing it and feeling relaxed while you were doing it. This sense of calm energy is what makes it helpful in the rest of your daily life.

Examples of passion

Being passionate is not always having a lot of money, it’s not constantly talking about how much you want something, and it’s definitely not going out with your friends to look at big flashy cars.

Being passionate means doing things you like to do, and you will eventually feel tired and sleepy after spending time on activities that make you happy.

These activities can be anything from reading a book, listening to music, taking a walk, practicing yoga, practicing meditation, working on a project you love, etc. – any activity that makes you feel good and brings you joy.

If you are already in touch with your inner passions- whether they be hobbies, sports, arts, or whatever else - KEEP DOING THAT!

But also learn what kind of experiences make you feel less engaged and invested in them.

Something that made you feel connected once may no longer does, so try looking into why that is and find new ways to re-engage yourself in those areas.

The benefits of being passionate

Being passionate is great, but there are also some important reasons why it can be detrimental to your career and personal life. Too much passion about something will drown out other things you want to focus on!

When you’re in love, you can forget that you exist outside this relationship. You feel like you have to do everything with her/him – go here, go home, eat here, drink here…you name it, they’ve done it.

And while having fun is totally okay, if these experiences are all you care about, then you're not investing in anything else. You're not working hard on projects that matter to you, and you're not keeping yourself busy so that you don't get distracted or need time by someone else.

By the same token, as we discussed before, when you invest too much energy in one thing, you may stop doing other things you should be- which could cost you professionally and personally.

The drawbacks of being passionate

Being too passionate about something can hurt you, destroy you, and take away what you love doing.

Being too invested in something will make you lose focus on other things that are more important to you. You could become so focused on your goal that you forget to spend time with people who matter to you.

You might even start to feel like you have to be engaged in your passion all the time because if you weren’t then you would suffer some kind of emptiness or regret.

This is not a healthy way to live. Yours life should be filled with areas that you enjoy and that bring you happiness, but don’t require much effort to do.

It takes work to achieve success, which is why most successful people aren’t always very enthusiastic about how their lives turned out.

Understanding passion

What is passion?

We often talk about passionate people, but what does that really mean?

Mostly we associate passion with things such as sports fans, movie buffs, and musicians who are very invested in their favorite genres. A few examples of this include someone who loves football so much they can’t wait to watch a game every week, there's a music fan that knows all of the songs by heart, and someone who watches action movies because they enjoy it so much.

These individuals are actively involved in the things they love, and it comes across when you look at them. They seem excited about everything related to their passion, which makes other people around them feel good.

It is hard to stay focused on something if you don't care about it, so being engaged with your passions helps you focus more. According to Harvard University, having passion for something means you'll devote time to it and strive to achieve your goals with it.

Harvard also notes that while some may think passion is only for young adults, anyone can develop a passion.

Taking control of your passion

Let’s look at some examples to see how powerful passions can be.

I have read many stories where people lost their lives doing something they loved, like singing or playing music. You don’t need any special training to sing or play an instrument, so why not give it a try?

You can learn how to play the piano in a few months if you put your heart into it, which is what most musicians do. They spend hours every day practicing, so should you!

How about taking up singing? There are lots of ways to start, from learning the alphabet to buying a song book and starting with easy songs.

By putting in the same amount of effort as someone who already sings, you will probably pick up the skill much faster. And believe me, once you get the hang of it, you will keep doing it for years to come.

Finding your passion job

We are living in an era of disposable people, individuals who do not feel that what they are doing is important. They go through the motions with their jobs without any true motivation to be there.

This is becoming more prevalent as we move towards automation, where equipment and technology does most if not all of the work. Jobs that were considered necessary for human survival are now automated and done by robots.

We have also entered into an era where workers have no idea what their position at an organization even is. A senior manager may never actually speak to a junior person about what their responsibilities are, and those under them may never know.

Finding your passion career means knowing what you want to do and being able to articulate it to other people. You will have to believe in yourself and value your own skills, but more importantly, you need to like what you do!

If you don’t, then you should look to change something about how you manage your time or find another profession. Don’t waste your life chasing things that don’t matter to you.

That applies both to your job and your personal life. Yours two biggest commitments are going to determine the rest of your days.

Switching your passion

Sometimes you get so focused on what you want to do that you forget to look outside of yourself for inspiration. You may also feel like you’re running out of ideas because you've run dry in exploring your passions.

The thing about passion is, it can be a fleeting feeling. If you don't maintain it, it will quickly disappear.

So, how do you keep it going?

It's easy - just find something else that sparks your same passion and keep learning new things related to that area.

You'll never know everything there is to know about your initial passion, but by keeping up with it and other areas of interest, you'll definitely broaden your horizons.

Generalizing from my own experience, I learned most about writing when I was in school. But after college, I continued to read nonfiction books and self-publish my work to build my writer platform.

By incorporating different genres and styles, I was able to bring myself into new types of writers. Plus, being familiar with both sides (writing and publishing) gave me more opportunities in the industry.

Being consistent with your passion

Consistency is one of the most important things to be passionate about. If you are not consistently doing something, then it does not matter what you are trying to achieve, you will fail.

When I was in high school, I loved reading. I would spend hours every day browsing through books and magazines. I read several different genres, from fiction to non-fiction.

It’s hard to believe now, but back then I did not have many friends. So instead of spending time with my classmates, I invested my time in reading. I made reading my hobby and career.

Since I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to keep learning more about the field. That’s why I enrolled in college to study literature.

Now that I think about it, my love for reading came first. My passion for literacy grew as I immersed myself in it.