Passion? Motivation?

[Leo tickles]

I've been having an internal struggle of late with passion and motivation.

Instead of asking for advice on how to progress my life, I want to ask for examples of how you progressed yours. What are you REALLY passionate about and why, and what have you done to achieve something great in it?

For example, my girl friend is very passionate about getting good grades, and she has them.

My problem is that I just don't know what passion really is, and the closest thing that I can come up with that I'm passionate about, I don't have any motivation to do.

 

[kis123]

If you don't have motivation, all the passion in the world isn't going to help.

I struggle with fibromyalgia; one of the main symptoms is depression/mood swings. In the last several months (after the husband died), I've had these spiraling episodes and it's like a nasty freefall. I'm blessed/lucky that I haven't just completely fallen.

How do I stay motivated? By literally and figuratively dragging myself out of bed everyday to make things happen. Now that I'm involved in foreclosure defense, my passion goes into the people I help. We've been in a battle royale in the courts but so far everyone's still in their home so far. We're both from Ohio (or should I say NO-hio) so you know the foreclosure crisis is epic here, especially in Cuyahoga county. So that's what motivates me.....helping people save their homes. I absolutely can't stand to know that someone doesn't have a roof over their head.

You'll know your true passion when there is absolutely nothing that'll stop you from obtaining it. I wish that you find it and run with it like a reciever with the football and can see nothing but the end zone. For me, that's what true passion is.

Hope this helps

 

[Leo tickles]

I see, and yes the situation in Ohio is pretty bad. I.... can't justify dragging myself out of bed every morning to chase anything. Hell, video games, the one thing that I've been consistently doing and doing well at for many years is even a chore.

There was a tournament in Columbus that I went to, but never trained for. I lost, but managed to have a good time. There is going to be one again in a couple of weeks, and while I am good at the game and can beat the top players, I'd rather just quit than put in the work.

Same with a lot of things. If I don't already have it, but want it, I should have it. And if I still don't, fuck working for it, I'll just pretend it doesn't exist.

I've tried to figure out if that is laziness and entitlement, but I don't think it is. I just have a mental block going on. Where it comes from and how to get rid of it, I have no clue.

 

[Morpheus72]

Also a problem...

This is also a problem for me. I go to work every day, support myself, and live an otherwise great life. I just have never found that vocation that I am totally passionate about. I listen to others who say they are working in their dream jobs, and it's hard to relate, because I've never felt like there was that one thing out there that I would love to do.

So I make money, and I hope the day comes when the lightbulb goes on.

 

[GQguy]

Good question man.....

For me....the biggest motivation came after an argument with my father. I had just landed an unpaid internship doing biomedical research and I wanted to quit my job stocking fruit to focus my attention on it. My dad gave me a verbal thrashing as he's know to do even till this day.....the big thing I took from it was "you need to be your own man". My dad fell ill a couple of days later and ways placed into a coma within a week of that convo. With the situation looking dire at 21 I decided to quit school as a physics major and enlist. When I did I realized that I was not working and operating at my highest potential. My desire to work at my highest potential led to fighting(I use the word fight because going from enlisted to officer is no easy feat). I chose the most prestigious job(pilot) and aimed for that. Now i'm challenged daily. Friends I make are constantly being cut from the program. I love it.

A friday can go like this:

brief flight
Fly
debrief flight
study
plan next flight
skype with buddy/partner in startup
work on separate engineering patent
invite buddy's over to have drinks at my homemade home bar
go out and have drinks and have a blast

I love this life! I'm constantly stressed out. Tons of people are looking up to me. I'm constantly looking back to help those in need. An I know that as I get older my ability to help others will grow exponentially. My hardwork liberated me from my father and allows me to create the relationships that make life worthwhile. I get to see the world.

But! Most importantly.......

If all of this were to topple....i'd find the silver lining. There have been down times....and in the future I might even consider this moment one of them, but I find joy in what I do....not do what I enjoy. This is the difference. What I do to get paid...the long days and the stress, not to mention the danger...allows me the freedom to do what I want with my life. So I work at that job like it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I know my hardwork now will allow my future kids to have a great life....isn't that motivation enough? But one must connect the two together. I love to party....hard. I can't often because of work...but I know that if I didn't work I couldn't party at all. I might get out once a month sometimes...but I work hard in that month knowing that I earned a great time at the end of the month. It's the proverbial donkey and carrot...the carrot being the good time...me being the donkey and work being the load the donkey has to carry.

Anyway...hope that makes sense.

Good luck in finding what you love.

GQ

 

[Leo tickles]

I see, GQ. Having people look up to me used to be a big priority of mine. Somewhere along the line I lost that. Honestly, I wouldn't look up to me. Logically, I feel that its a shame and then some to waste the potential I have. But even still, I just can't seem to care enough.

It's like, K, you really want this, right? Let's do it. 10 minutes later... too much effort, I lost interest. Rage about giving up for 15 minutes, oh look, something else to do. lalalala.

Sigh. Only I can change that by just doing it... it's just... harder than I thought it would be to do the things I want to do... which.. makes no sense.

 

[GQguy]

What would you do if you could 100% of the time? It could be as simple and as shallow as sex. Connect "sex" with another goal. Say, getting a college degree. Now the association may not represent reality...but it's real if it's in your head(college degrees reallydon't equal sex). But that vigor one would normally have can now be directed at the degree.

I used sex as an example because I think the major driver for success in most men is more sexual options. But it can be "having a good time" and "reaching my potential" like me. It can be independence ect ect

But if you're completely content with your life...changing things will be VERY difficult. I use the business term opportunity cost. The cost involved in pursuing an opportunity. For me I wanted independence so I enlisted in the military....the opportunity cost being hard work and the prospect of danger. This cost was worth it to me. My brother a year younger in the same boat as I stayed home and sold drugs. The cost to leave with me was too high for him. By my estimation he was/is comfortable. The disadvantages of staying put were lower than joining the military with his brother. Despite his very loud complaints of wanting his own place, money a decent girl....he feels more comfortable in the busom of our mother than anywhere else. He 7 years later..he's no further than when I left. How bad do you want it? If one is willing to risk life and limb..world watch out! If one isnt even willing to wake up at 5am for it...then one's motivation needs a lift.

Some people don't get that motivation till hungry eyes are looking up at them for a meal. That was my Captain's motivation for going through the tough process of OTS. Enlisted pay sucked and he wanted more for his family...and he knewhe can do more.

Bro...if you can do more than you do....show us. You and everyone on the planet(including myself) should always challenge themselves for more. Trust me, it will bring you and those around you great joy. For some that is as simple as getting out of bed in the morning...for others it's as complex and going to space. Everyone has a limit to their potential....we're dealt a hand...but play it as best you can.

First step is attitude. The beer glass being half full will get you very far.

GQ

 

[chicago]

I was passionate about writing and I have done some great work in that field but in this economy I know it's not practical to think I'm gonna be able to pay the bills that way and I'm more passionate about being financially independent from my parents and creating a life for myself. That said, in recent years, I've reexamined my priorities and work ethic and in about a year, I should be in a good place to move out on my own without living check to check. Hard work pays off

 

[kopfhorer]

Leo - I thought of this blog posting when I read your original posting. Just a shot in the dark. I know that what the writer's talking about affects a lot of us.

 

[dazed]

IMO passion's about what light's up your life. That might be sport, music, travel,politics, religion, a lover, a kink. Passion to me
means what I love and enjoy. I find doors seem to open for that. Often we're taught that life is all about hard work and sacrifice -
and it is in many ways but there's a lot of room for doing what we love, enjoy and really care about. That's passion. It's a drive and a way to focus on getting somewhere and achieving something. It's also to do with things and people we believe in.

 

[Mitchell]

Two things. and I dont know if this counts..

I am passionate about having my own business. I like the idea of being my own boss, and trying if possible not to have a clock 9 to 5 job in the marketplace. While some things I've done havent worked out, I continue to work at it. After my mom passes, and I collect my thoughts, I plan to persue a unique business idea I have, that my lawyer thinks it a great idea.

I am passionate about my mom's situation, and her care. People who know me, know this. I sat on the road with her, every week, six hours round trip, last year for her to get chemo. I lived with her, for three months, in a hotel in NJ last summer. I've accompanied her, to every Dr visit, every hospital stay, and visited her constantly, in the nursing homes she's been in. I'm available to be there for her, 24-7. When her time does come to be taken from me, I know that I will have been a very devoted son to her, but that she deserves every drop of my love, caring, and support.

Mitch

 

[Saeria]

The curious thing about both passion and motivation is that they are fleeting at best. There are things I have been passionate about as well as motivated to change, but the circumstances around me did not echo my passion. After the week I've had, I have to struggle most mornings to greet a new day, but I simply take into consideration everything that is hinged upon my action. Some of the things that require my action are very small, but even while it is there, obligation will almost always take over in getting me started. Once I get moving, the passion comes later. Maybe making a list of the most important things to you that you can see first thing in the morning will help you get moving. Keep your head up and be willing to find the good in every day. The greatest expectation I have in any one given day is that I'm able to wake up. Everything after that, no matter how rotten a day it is, is still a blessing.

 

[Capnmad]

What do you repeatedly do, and why?

Which of these activities would you regret losing?

 

[desdemona]

I've been passionate about my work for so long.... it's hard to recall how it began as a dream. But it did - when I was 10 years old I told everyone I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up. And no one laughed. Or thought it was a dumb idea. Or impossible. Even though everyone kept telling me how hard it was to get into school and how you needed good grades and so on. I never once deviated from the path. I had support of family and friends - true blessing which I can't discount how much it motivated me to keep going. I found learning a stimulant. And getting to interact with animals was just what I wanted. Cleaning up after them? No sweat. And giving flea baths. And cleaning cages. And blood, sweat, and tears - mine and theirs - just flowed freely, re-inforcing my that I had made the right choice. So, after high school, I spent 8 years in high learning and got my DVM. Perfectly happy ending, right?

But then what? I had a job, a career, but no goals. Motivation starts to wain after 10 years or so - givings shots, doing surgery, no longer quite so novel. But what about owning my own business and shaping it into something that was totally mine? Now that was something I could aspire towards - and, with varying detours, I kept on that track. And now... I own the practice. Next stop....building a new building and growing the practice so that we can afford to do it.

I think motivation is about finding something - new or old - and coming up with ways to do it over again without it becoming boring or mundane. Not an easy task. Making the everyday less chorelike... but I look for the new experiences and relish those opportunities. Now I'm looking at learning how to run a business. Keep searching - you'll find what you're looking for isn't all that far from reach.

 

[Bohemianne]

I have proven sometime in the past that if I let it happen, my passion and motivation on specific things can literally kill me. So I try to keep some moderation.

 

[kopfhorer]

I've been passionate about my work for so long.... it's hard to recall how it began as a dream. But it did - when I was 10 years old I told everyone I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up. And no one laughed. Or thought it was a dumb idea. Or impossible.

That alone counts for more than a lot of people would have you believe. If important people in your life are jealous or inconsiderate, failed at accomplishing something, or have been otherwise denied their own dreams, they can be as dangerous as a serial killer to yours.

 

[PiedPiper]

In my experience, Leo, a passionate motivation may not necessarily be in connection with a specific thing or pursuit, but rather with how one prefers to go about those pursuits. One's "angle," if you will. Mine happens to be approaching any situation,.... an old house, a newspaper column, a vegetable garden, a dinner recipe, a piece on the guitar, etc, etc,... by aiming to do it better than the last time,... or better than the last person to do it,.... or just different,... "constant improvement through change." (Probably applies to gaming, no?) This HAD to be my approach because I was always too interested in too many things to specialize in terms of a career,..... I do lots of things, but the same approach holds for all of them and that seems to keep things interesting for me.