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Passion
Author: Mike King
http://LearnThis.ca
Resource: 001

2. Which came first, learning or passion?
What is Passion?
I’m not sure about each of you, but I know that I get very passionate about things I learn. Or is it
that I have the passion for those things and so I learn them? Well, I really don’t know, probably a
bit of both. I do however, find it very interesting how much I personally find that my learning and
passions align so much in my life. Whether it's a similarities in my work and personal life or how
I explore books, I continually see alignment of how the things I learn apply in so many areas of
my life. Those are the areas I’m most passionate about and it continues to feed the passion in a
strengthening cycle. The more I learn about something, the more I enjoy it, and so then the more I
want to learn even more about it.
Passion Roadblocks
I’ve spent a lot of time reading leadership/management and business books to improve my career
and at the same time, most of the authors I’ve enjoyed most mix the business life with a personal
touch and write about applying this in your personal life as well. Changing bad habits and
improving oneself cannot happen solely in the workplace even if business books, performance
reviews, your boss and your company are pretty much only concerned only about your day life at
the office. Your actions, mannerisms, character and passions are not completely separable from
your personal life no matter how hard you try. In order to change these things, you need to
change them everywhere in your life. That’s where passion often plays its part. A passion can be
so strong it will steer every area of your life, home and work and can drive a person to learn and
follow more about that area of desire.
Using Passion
Now, I’m talking about a positive passion, something to improve your life or the life of others.
Recognizing this, understanding it, following it and learning from it are then different for each
person. Using a passion in your life can lead to an extremely successful meaningful life. It's a sad
fact how many people in this world simply “get by” in life and don’t make the most of it. One
way to do this is to have and use your passions in life to be more joyful and to live with purpose
and meaning. I’m planning to explore the topic of passion in several upcoming articles.
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passion?

3. Find your passion in life
I last wrote about passion, one of mine specifically and now want to explore how to find your
own passions. A few people know already what their passions are, however, many more do not.
Passions are not just a single thing or a onetime event, it is much deeper than that. Passion can’t
be faked, it isn’t something you can turn on and off, and it never fails to survive through any
criticism.
Where does Passion Come From?
Passion exists because of many combined experiences and it drives a whole person (mind, body
and spirit) to express, utilize, and hold true to core values with joy and enthusiasm. Passion is
energetic and lets difficulties be overlooked and ignored to help recognize the positive boundless
potential in the people and events in our world.
While that may sound great, finding your passions isn’t easy. Passion is often the cause of pain in
people’s life so it gets buried and ignored with an attitude to simply get by in life instead of living
it to its fullest and taking the risks needed to continually follow your passions. Whether this is
personal or professional, living with passion is often seen to be risky and may reveal truths about
you and your true values that are not always convenient from the mind’s perspective. Living
safely can seem easier, however, it is certainly not as meaningful.
Finding your Passion
So, what are some of the ways then to find your passion? Here is one method I can recommend
for doing this on your own.
1. First, you need to have some serious time to reflect and its best to do it alone with no
distractions. At least a couple of hours. Go somewhere you feel very relaxed, calm and
comfortable. Use a pen and paper and write out all of the major events in your life that you
remember to be very positive and joyful. Then do the same for all the times you have felt
crushed, alone, sad, mad, and any other painful or hurting times in your life. Take some time for
this, it can easily take 30 minutes or more. Pick events that relate to your career, education,
childhood, family, friends, accomplishments, major events, fears, dreams, purchases, emotions,
and spirituality.
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4. 2. Review the pleasurable side of your list and write out a reason why you think it gave you
pleasure in your life. Keep asking yourself why you feel and think that way for each of the items
on your list. This helps to explore the meaning behind each item and will drive out your beliefs
on each item, instead of thinking of the item itself. Your beliefs are the key with passions and that
is what you need to get to the root of.
3. The same thing applies with the pain side of your list. Ask yourself and answer why you belief
it was painful or what caused the pain. Keep asking about each response until you get to a value
or belief on each item, since this always is the root of any feeling or thought. You need to
understand your beliefs in different areas to truly see any of your passions in your life as well.
4. Next, you need to group those beliefs, order them in how you would prioritize them, which
ones are reoccurring and which ones contradict each other. Examine and determine which beliefs
are most important to you. This is the hardest part, you need to be truly honest with yourself.
Don’t answer for anyone else, what you’ve been conditioned to think, or play it safe here. You
need to FEEL those beliefs for them to be real. Belief comes from the heart and soul, not the
mind.
5. Now, for each of your beliefs, you need to find some commonalities with them. Most beliefs
are related and can often just have a painful and pleasurable side. And those are the key to
identifying and building your passions. The values and beliefs can be controlled by each
individual and making the choices to steer towards the pleasurable and away from the pain, is
exactly what a passion is based on. Living consistently and energetically for these values and
beliefs while choosing and following that which re-enforces your beliefs, no matter the risk or
consequences is exciting and inspiring. Its Passion!
Next I’ll be looking at how to express your passion and the power of it.
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5. Express Your Passions
I’ve already introduced the topic of passion here and written about finding your own passion .
This article now covers expressing your passion and the value in doing it. I believe there are two
main reasons people don’t express themselves more, especially when it comes to their passions.
Living with passion isn’t always easy and here are two reasons it isn’t often expressed.
1. You don’t really have a passion or even know what it is.
2. Fear of exposing a passion in fear of critique from others.
As for number #1, this is something that can be addressed and simply takes work. It requires
some time and brutal self honesty to come to the belief based conclusions that reveal true
passions. Finding out your passions is what I wrote about here.
#2, This is often the direct cause for not knowing your passion in #1. This fear is usually based
on some life experience related to expressing your passion that caused pain and now it's easier to
ignore it and shield yourself than it is to risk that pain again and put your passion out on the line
for others to see. Keep focused on the pleasures you’ll gain with living and expressing your
passions, not the pain. It can also help to think of the pain it might cause you if you don’t express
them.
The Importance of Passion
What would your workplace and home environment look like if each and every person looked at
every event, every hour to make the most of it. What if you took action every single day on
something you truly loved and were able to share that comfortably with others. What if everyone
lived for the moment and spent life enjoying it and encouraging each other’s passions, instead of
judging and tearing them down. Think of a world where you can share your feelings and beliefs
without fear of criticism.
God has given us the gift of feelings, emotions and free will. Making the most of those and
collaboratively understanding each other's desires, beliefs and passions can only be learned and
experienced through the expression of them. Society and business continues to pound us into a
boxed in robotic like non-individual existence where we are trained to suppress our tears of joy
and sadness, hide our fears, shield our excitement, and muster our love and convictions from the
rest of the world. Technology drives us to be connected more and more at a superficial level
while ignoring the feelings and passion we each have inside us.
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6. Expressing Passion
One of the easiest ways to express your passion is to tell your close friends and family about it.
Get comfortable with it. Accept the vulnerabilities it reveals and share those fears as part of the
reason you have your passion. Don’t let your past fears and worries continue to affect you today.
Learn from them, recycle the pain and make it useful in your life now. Your pain and experiences
can be a lesson to others and will inspire you to continue forward. Spread that circle of sharing
even further, tell your friends, your colleagues, even strangers about your passions. This will
open many new doors for relationships and connections with others. Building that foundation of
trust and getting over any fears of expression will be in itself, a wonderful experience.
Take on and get involved with activities and events that relate to your passion. These might be
relational, hobbies, music, writing or any other past times. Focus some of your time you spend
every week on the very things that you have passion for. Continue to expand those areas in your
life. Identify the bad habits and time wasted in your life and replace them with these passion
based activities.
Find other people with similar passions as you and spend time together. You can really feed off
each other with enthusiasm and encouragement to continue to develop your life around your
passions. Offer help to others in finding their passions, and allow each individual to find their
own passions. Accept the beliefs of others and ensure you are not blocking anyone else from
finding their passions.
What Does Passion Do?
Passion makes us unique, it shapes our character, exposes our purpose in life and draws upon us
questions about our souls and true beliefs. This opens up the heart and spirit to see each day and
opportunity in a positive light, a light that inspires others to express and explore their passions.
The power of passion guides us to what our hearts truly want, reveals to us the awesome
experiences and feelings we all share and triggers us to understand our purpose and mission on
earth. Embrace it, explore it, express it!
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7. ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT LEARN THIS
Mike King is the author of Learn This and has created this LearnThis.ca is a privately published
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