Introduction: Having passion for what you do in life is often associated with obsession. Obsession is an unhealthy focus on something to a disregard for everything else. A passion is less specific. It is a strong feeling for math, art, children, cooking, exercise, music, and so forth. A passion is a broader field that offers many diverse opportunities for work. An obsession is an irrational fixation on a specific activity, or person, or music to the exception of most other things. You've known about those who were so obsessed with a celebrity personality that they ended up being arrested. Some people are obsessed about eating or not eating certain foods, and there are those who are obsessed with shoes, plastic surgery, and their pets. Obsessive people lack control, discipline, and the ability to see beyond their obsession.
Passion is important. Without passion in your life, it would be stale and uninteresting. When you lose the ability to find joy in life, life tends to stifle you. Some people have passions for things that are unhealthy, while others seem to be unaware of any passions in their life. It is important to take some time to reflect and consider a few things so you are more aware of your passions, how they might be linked, and to explore underlying passions you may have.
In this article, you will explore how we get caught in a passionless life, how to get out of that life, and how living and working with passion can lead you to thinking like a millionaire.
How Does a Person Get Caught in A Passionless Life?
You've heard the story about how you eat an elephant – one bite at a time. The same concept applies to this. A person doesn't just wake up one day and say, I'm going to work in an area that I have no passion for. Nobody does that. But what we do is move through life being pulled and pushed by what those around us think we should be doing, and end up somewhere we never intended to be.
Your parents want you to get an education. In anything. Just go to college. So the first mistake is enrolling in some school somewhere for reasons that you can't even remember, spending lots of money taking classes that someone else set up, and forcing you to choose a major. It happens every day. Maybe this happened to you. People ask you what you want to do. You have to do something, they say, so pick something. So you do. What do you know? Your frontal lobe hasn't even developed yet when you graduate from high school.
And nobody ever asks you what you are passionate about. What brings you joy. What is all the rush to move kids from high school into a life filled with requirements that the adult world has, for some reason, decided is the right thing. How does this happen?
It happens when the adults do not understand about passion. If they were allowed to explore their own interests and passions and choose their own paths as a young person, they would be more likely to allow you to do the same. So there you have it. You might be in the middle of fulfilling all these imposed requirements, or you might be on the other side, and started in a life that is lacking in passion. You get up and go to work every day and wonder how you got where you are. You hate your boss, you hate your job, and you wonder what happened to that old happy kid you used to be. This is good, because it takes you back to the point when you enjoyed life. What was your life before you had a job, a family, a house, and seemed to live only to pay the bills? It's time to stop in your tracks, sit down, and reflect. You may have to do more than sit down. You may have to find a place to hide and give yourself time for a complete examination. But don't keep doing the same things in the same ways, because you will never get another result. You will always be unhappy, which is unhealthy and unproductive. You will burn out, blow out, or drop out, but you will not change, unless you make some decisions to do so.
How Can A Person Get Out of a Passionless Life?
It doesn't matter who you are, you simply cannot waste your life continuing in this spiral of despair. There is a way out.
First, you do have to find a few days to get away by yourself. This is important. If anyone else, even your spouse is with you, you will tend to make decisions based on what they want -- and that can't happen. That's not to say you won't take that person into account in the changes you will be making, but you have to dig within yourself and find what is going to make you want to get up and go to work each day. If you don't, your life will continue to suffer and everyone around you will suffer, as well. They may think you are being dramatic or off your rocker or having a midlife crisis. It doesn't matter. Stop and take some time to begin the change.
Begin at the beginning. Examine your life and make some lists of what is going on that is negative and what is positive. What habits do you have that you could end, and what good is going on, if you can find any. Self-evaluation is the beginning of a new life. Put anything and everything on your two lists.
Next, make a list of what used to bring you joy. Take time to reflect back over your life. Think about your dreams you pushed aside, things you wondered about, and just write down everything that comes up. The more you write, the more you will discover beneath those layers of living for others.
That is a big step. You will probably already feel freer, lighter, and happier just to face the truth about where you are. If you can't respect your own beliefs and values, you will find it difficult to respect others. What is important to you? Write it down. What are you really passionate about?
Now you have stepped up and made the first decision. The old way has to end, and the new thinking must begin. That means getting your mindset to think strategically. Before any real decisions are made in your life, you have to come up with a plan. You can't come up with a plan until you've got your mental act together. That means begin to act and think like a person who is excited about the rest of his life. You will gain energy, and your health will begin to improve. Start by getting rid of one bad habit at a time. Continue with everything else, while you focus on changing the way you think. If you make decisions before your mind is thinking smart, then your decisions may not be the best. So just continue in the same life, except that your focus is more on changing yourself than anything else.
Begin to open up your whole brain by finding activities that use creativity, that incorporate the physical body, and that include things you really enjoy. Explain to those around you what is going on. Tell them that you are not happy where you are, and you are working to improve yourself and your thinking, so you can decide how to make corrections. You will be employing healthy habits, learning new skills, and finding creative activities and events to open your whole brain. Your family will get the good side effects of your changes.
When you feel you are in control of yourself again, you are finding some joy, and you have left bad habits behind, you are almost ready to make some decisions. Make sure you are capping any excess spending and wasting of resources, because you may not make as much money in the future, as you currently make at this job. Look around you and see if there is any work in your current company that you might actually enjoy. If not, you can look at lateral moves in other companies. Other options to consider are: starting a business on your own, or moving to a place where there is some industry that you are passionate about. Make a list of all your ideas, because though you think you will remember them, but you may not. Talk to many people, seek out a financial planner, a financial tax person, and possibly an attorney to help you assess your financial state. It is important, as you prepare to make a strategic plan, that you know everything. For once you are going to have control over deciding how you want to spend the rest of your life.
When you feel like you thinking is straight, you have gather all the information you need, and you have studied the state of work in an area for which you have passion, then you are ready to formulate a plan. Once again, it is a plan you will guide and it must incorporate your passions. Take time and set your goals, then set your short term goals or the objectives you will take to reach that target. In your plan you will make considerations for your family, your debts and obligations to your employer, but you have to set a path that will free you from the chains of your current life.
The Link between Following Your Passions and Thinking like a Millionaire:
Becoming a millionaire is not far once you start thinking like a millionaire. It means you are in control, you have a strategic plan, you are ready to work hard, you have stomped out bad habits, have opened back up the creative parts of your brain, and you are happy. When these things align and are coupled with a focused mindset, saving money and investing, you have nothing to stop you from becoming a millionaire.
Millionaires are people like you who love their jobs, so are willing to work hard. They are in control, so they are able to stop spending money on things of little value, stop the slow leaks of waste, and use good resources to help them invest wisely. They have a plan that is a lifetime plan, they have a style of life that will serve them well into retirement, and most of all they are happier and healthier, as are their families. They do not spend time or energy on people or activities that are negative, or do not meet with the values they have set.
If you follow your passions, you know who you are, and will be happy. If you want to take that to another level and develop a strong work ethic, develop some strategic plans, live frugally, and invest your money, you can become a millionaire. It can happen if you want it. The key is to be willing to bring it all together strategically.
Summary
To live a fervent life is everybody's dream. It can happen to you at any age. Getting caught in a life of hopelessness can make you think that's all there is. But it's not true. You can break out of that prison anytime you are ready. Take some time to assess yourself, what you want, and where you want to go. Then get your life together and be ready to make some changes. If your whole brain is open to creative ventures into the world, you can do whatever you want. Don't let go of your childlike discovery of all the things that energize you. Let yourself get excited about life again and be fulfilled.
In the development of a life that follows a passion, you must regain control of yourself, your decision making, your spending, and thinking. Once you have attained that goal, you will be stronger than before, and you will be able to move on if you chose to do so. You can take the next step toward making that million dollars.
Example:
Tom was married, with a baby, and working for a firm that built airplanes. His passion was airplanes, but he was in the financial part and rarely touched anything that had to do with a plane. He wasn't happy. His family depended upon his income and he felt trapped. They'd recently bought a house and they were slightly overextended in their mortgage. His wife sensed his despair and a cloud kind of hung around them all the time.
One day, Tom took a trip to the mountains to fish. While there, he did a real examination of himself and his life. He made lists of the negatives and positives in his life. He studied their out-of-control budget and thought about what he wanted to do. When he went back home, he talked to his wife about his unhappiness in his job. She was glad to hear him open up about it, because it affected them all. He told her he really wanted to own a small business flying commuters up and down the coast to work and back, but they would have to commit to living smaller financially for quite a while. He was willing to continue with his same job while he put plans in place, and while they worked to reduce the cost of their living.
Together they were able to make changes in their lives. They ended up selling their home and moving into a very small starter house that was much less expensive, but as much as they needed. His wife decided to keep a friend's baby to help save money. They hired a financial planner and began to put together a plan for the business. Just the planning was enough to give Tom the energy to continue in his job, and after a few months he was able to move into part of the plant where he dealt with management of plane parts. It gave him new skills he would need running his own business. His company was supportive, and there were people there who had started businesses themselves and became his mentor.
Eventually, Tom dropped his hours at work until he was working only two days a week. This helped him merge into his business easily, and with less disruption in his pay. He also started blogging about his business and it got enough traffic that he received additional income from ads. Tom and his wife were both much happier and they had turned a corner from allowing their income to pour out, to filling their savings toward investing.
Consider this:
1. What kind of role model are you providing for your family, or your future family, if you are unhappy every day and hate your job?
2. Making changes is not easy, but living above your means and never having time for people you care about is not easy, either.
3. When you open up your whole mind, the creativity that the brain is capable of using makes thinking more creative and strategic.
4. Sometimes small changes are all you need to make, but if you need to make big changes, there are ways. Persevere!
