Avoiding passion

in #philosophy6 years ago

Over the years as a corporate trainer, I have spoken to many people about many things. If you have followed my posts, you can imagine that there is also quite an eclectic range of topics I broach with clients. All of them aim towards a similar position albeit from several directions. That point is responsibility for the self.

This includes many topics such as skillsets and work ethics, attitudes and integrity. It covers communication and self-development processes, stress coping mechanisms and emotional control and, being me, I look at the factors that prevent us from achieving what we want to achieve. Understanding what is via removing what isn't. Truth via negation.

One topic that comes up often is Passion. The all so elusive situation where you love what you do so much, that it and you consume each other and become one. Where for the time you are together, you are completely engaged. Something that makes life feel meaningful.

So let's have a look at what impedes our experience of passion instead.

People often want to be passionate about their work but they are likely to have a conflict before they ever begin. The problem is passion is not work, well, not in the sense that most people regard work these days. Most see work as something that has to be done in order to survive the day to day requirements. Pay bills, put food on the table etc. It is also all of the maintenance tasks like cleaning the house or cutting the grass. Passion does not live here. It is not the type of task, it the attitude.

Some people want their passion to be a hobby, something that they can enjoy doing on weekends on and off when they have the time or money. Some people claim to be passionate travellers, most that say this seem to be more 'escaping tourists'. The problem with this approach to passion is that the expectation of enjoyment is inherent. Passion doesn't live here either. It could, but the assumption of what passion should be likely prevents the experience.

Others want their passion to be something socially acceptable, the kind of thing that others will regard in high esteem. An activity that signals a status or a value with which one sees desirable to be associated. Some choose charity work, working with children or similar activities. Passion won't be found here either. If acceptance from others is a requirement, no good deed will bring the personal depth for passion.

Many look to belief systems. A way to live life, a path to follow. There are any number of these kinds of offerings, each with a set of traditions that must be adhered to and revered in order to remain loyal to the system. As blasphemous as it is, passion can't live here either.

There is an increasing number of people that are waiting for passion to strike or fall into their laps. Sitting immersed in television, online discussions, gaming or a good book. It doesn't matter what you consume, passion will not flourish in this environment either. Consumption is not a path to passion and the more one eats in this way, the more hunger.

Passion is not something that can be bound by a set of rules as the process of passion looks to destroy the rule book itself. It cannot be found for where it lays is inside, and it must be brought out as creation and expression of who one is at the core. And who one truly is cannot be restricted by the demands of others, limited to a group average or popularity contest for if passion is at play, passion does not care how it appears to others, only that it is true to itself.

No amount of giving will buy passion no matter how many children are saved, how clean the environment gets, passion is selfish and demands all resources.

Pleasure cannot create passion as pleasure is experienced as an evaluation of events, passion is too busy to waste the energy to evaluate. And passion cares nought for fun, fun is short lived, passion plays the long game where joy may come or not but only looking back through the years can it be felt.

Passion demands a path to truth, not a belief in truths so no belief system can satisfy the hunger as the passion will keep questioning until traditions are no longer sustainable.

And it is a hunger.

One that will continually demand to be fed an ever increasing movement towards the end goal though, the end is well past any vanishing points in the distance. Passion can continue forever, a life long journey of discovery. Wherever the path leads, passion will walk.

Or stop.

And a new passion can begin.

In my opinion there are no set rules for passion but it will probably take a large amount of work and will likely be the most difficult thing one ever attempts. Passion is a soul eater and will consume all on offer given the chance. Once the passion begins, the problem is not in the following of it, but the attempt to resist its constant limitless gaze and pull on the heart and mind.

We have been unfortunately brainwashed to view work as something to be avoided, something we do to give us the resources to enjoy luxuries, space, time. We rarely take a step back and question this and wonder why so many of us have a hole we just can't fill, no matter how much me have or how much we do. We rarely question what we are taught to collect and guided to achieve. We live our lives in a semi-fugue state, following the sounds of other people's voices telling us where to turn.

Passion doesn't listen, why do we?

This is not a guide although it may be for some. It is written to perhaps inspire or it could tear apart. There is no truth in these words except that which you find but do not believe them. Test them instead. Prove me wrong or right I do not care either way. None of the things I mentioned are bad things to do and like I said at the start, the responsibility is ours. But, I hope that you become serious if you are not already and raise the question 'What is my passion?' and do all you can to find out what that means for you.

The world needs more passionate people in all fields, all areas, all traditions, all activities to rip the rule books apart and make new paths toward truth. We may arrive at different times and by different roads, but I think we will all be in the same place eventually.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

Sort:  

Simply brilliant. I enjoyed this very much!

Thank you very much :)

Passion is what made Arnold Swarchzenegger great, Cristiano Ronaldo and many other actors/sport stars. If you read their biographies you see how much passionate they were about what they do...Arnold when training despite the huge pain knew, that each set he made would put him closer to his goal...Cristiano Ronaldo was always the first and the last to get out of training and when he was playing for Sporting at young age they even had to close the gym during the night because he would go there in the middle of the night to train...they had passion to achieve their goals.
Unfortunately, most people on earth don't have passion on their jobs, myself included, there are parts i like, but there are fews compared to what i dislike, but changing jobs at the moment is not a possibility.
If my crypto investments have a 10x to 20x increase there might be a possiblity that in the future i can work in the tourism industry that is one of my dreams :)

People choose their careers and jobs on what will they think will satisfy their material needs, not on what they actually want to do. I think people need to stop settling and be a little more risk taking, specially when young.

I agree, the big problem at least in my country is that I didn't have school advisors to give us counsel on future jobs and what do and so i had to rely on opinion of parents and family friends. I think its easier to be more risk taking when you're young, but at early thirties and when we already have responsabilities and depend on income its a lot hard...altough never impossible, there is always a chance, even its very little.

I often feel that Passion cannot hang around for long without determination and blind determination is it's closes ally. To live and work with passion is to keep a thing focused which wants to wander, like a pesky pulling dog on a long lead.

I think modern persons idea of 'finding' passion is fed by the very thing that also 'keeps them from it' which is being plugged in and passive on things such as tv etc. And in a way that exists to keep then looking and feeling just out of sorts enough to need to look more but also to satiate this loss of 'passion' with 'shopping therapy' and eat, drink, and watch.

Sometimes people expect happiness where it cannot exist. To find happiness and passion, we have to walk through sad and boring sometimes.

Most people don't have the will to make it through the sad and boring for long enough to come out on the other side and find the love of their life. It is much like the approach to relationships these days, if it gets boring - swipe for another...

I had never thought about the real meaning of passion. But it is a word that we use very often, for example I tell my husband that he is very passionate about the things he does and that I would like to be like him in that aspect. I have always considered that passion is to do something that you propose and do it with your heart and your whole being, regardless of the obstacles you have on the way to get what you want or the goal you draw, and that is my husband when he proposes something. I, on the other hand, when I have many stumbles, I do not continue. and that's why I tell him I'm not very passionate. Maybe I've had a wrong concept of what passion is.

Maybe the passion is in how you approach the stumbles along the road to where you end up.

I agree with all you say , sir. Good post.

Unfortunately for me , my passion is alive and well...but it suffers from chronic ADHD!
😂

lol. perhaps it does. perhaps Aderol helps... :D

Hi taraz. I think my passion has changed over the years to not enjoy what I do but to fix me financially. I have a passion now to fix my life and this has driven me to achieve things I wouldn't have thought possible. You sell yourself when you are passionate as you believe in it so everyone else gets carried along with it. I am the most passionate person I know as others don't have the belief in themselves.

I am the most passionate person I know as others don't have the belief in themselves.

This should always be the case for everyone perhaps.

Nice post , i really like it .
Good job , carry on .

Thanks for sharing @tarazkp
Upvote you .

Very good post

Nice content. Passion can inspire youto move to greater heights.

Nice post
Plz upvote me

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.35
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70733.96
ETH 3563.16
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.76