passion

"Passion is a feeling that follows action. It tends to be created or discovered, not predicted or planned. You don't find your passion. It finds you as you get in the mix and try things."

-James Clear

Reading this in James Clear’s newsletter this morning made me happy because it rings so true for me. It’s easy to convince ourselves we don’t know what we want, we can’t risk a pivot or commitment, or we don’t have enough motivation or passion to begin… but the useful truth to remember is those things usually come after beginning and getting in the mix to try things.

This is comforting. Because when we don’t know what to do or where to go next, at least we can know taking any step forward to “get in the mix,” making any move to try something, will help us be more open and discoverable for passion. This keeps us on the path. And it’s within our control. I find that far more reassuring than some vague idea that you should know your passion already or sit waiting for it be obvious. What if it isn’t?? How long might you have to wait?

I’ve experienced this with deciding to stick with habits and changes I want to make, even when I don’t feel enthusiastic about them all the time. The more I get involved and keep taking action, the more the results and care follows! Then I am invested, and I feel the stakes climb and passion build. I’ve experienced this in everything I have wondered about my career, not knowing what I want to do next, and not having clarity on the long-term big picture. That’s a scary scenario, and fear can be paralyzing if we let it. It’s calming and empowering to think with this perspective instead: I don’t have to know right away in order to be able to do the next right thing! Each next step is going to take me closer and give me more knowledge, curiosity, and insight!

As someone who has been very passionate and has also been very lost in the dark and unsure, I am so happy to know my actions will allow me to experiment and stumble across possibilities I couldn’t have thought up without trying things. Then as I go, passion will find me and grow.

We fear we are incapable of beginning, our incompetency or lack of knowledge and commitment to the full picture will get in the way, and the risk is too great… so it’s extremely deescalating to hear that actually, this is the best time to start, and your willingness to get up to something will be the very tool that guides you through. Not only is there nothing wrong with this scenario and unknowing — it’s also useful and fantastic!

But only if you lean in.