Over Worked Words

by Dianne J. Shaver, M. A.
Destiny Coach

Because so many people are  becoming entrepreneurs and have adopted the language that goes with it many words have lost their meaning.  They have become things we toss off in conversation but pay very little attention to.
 
One of those words is passion. There is a difference between being driven from ambition and interest and being pulled by passion, something you can’t live without.  A  lot of businesses are interesting and compelling  and a chance for economic freedom for their owner but not a passion. The closest to real passion would be someone who is a dancer, musician or an artist.  I have not included writer because so many  are  now writing from a formula that has proven successful for them.  Nothing wrong with that. However, passion and a formula don’t equate. The other category I would include would be social entrepreneurs, people who believe fervently in a cause. For them it is something compelling they have made into a business.
 
There is nothing wrong in creating a business which is interesting and offers a way to have economic freedom.  I’ve done that many times and enjoyed it.  I  want to bring awareness to our language and the true meaning of the words we use because we are pretty much a passionless culture.  We think things rather than feel them. I know many people who are inordinately proud of the fact they don’t let feelings enter into their choices. Passion has become anger and strong irritation. Things that push away while passion pulls toward.
 
 How do we know if we are on track for a life that truly fits who we are?  Feelings.  When do we feel most alive? When we are doing the things that use all of who we are. When we are living with passion. By the way addiction and passion are NOT the same. And another person can never be our passion.
 
To find our passion perhaps it’s time to reevaluate what life means. Why we are here.  What we individually came here to do.  I don’t think it was just to have a successful business.  There is a lot more to it. We will only discover it when we stop and ask ourselves- “What makes me feel most alive?” “What is it I cannot live without?”
 
While I don’t feel that suffering is necessary I think the fact that the root of passion comes from Latin pati, suffer, which to me means the object of passion must be something we where we would suffer if we didn’t find it. So-what is your passion? And are you willing to find it? Do you want to live passionately? Important to know the answers to those questions.