Find, follow, grow, and discover your passion, they say - whatsoever…. so 2005? Can anyone come up with something different to say?

Sadly there’s a mountain of well-intended passion poop across the blogosphere. Why is that, I wonder? So little on the subject is earth-shattering news unless you’re from the village of Pollyanna or new to the planet.

Could it just be me? Have I evolved so much over the years that I’m utterly bored with the subject? (As I am with many topics these days.)

Am I so unconsciously competent in the passion that I’ve lost touch with any hope of living in the metaverse?

I’m glad a recent search on Medium revealed that more writers disband the myths of passion as a solution to your lack of whatever. Bravo to them! Passion is not the holy grail of living the dream or taking your life to the next level - so stop already!

Let’s Shift

There is value in defining passion elements and simplifying its persona. But for Allah’s sake, don’t pay some life coach (or therapist) to help you find passion unless you’re a recovering addict who can’t feel excited anymore because you’ve damaged your brain’s ability to produce dopamine snorting coke up your nose since you were 21. - but I digress.

Spend your money doing something that will elicit a powerful feeling (naturally). Or better yet, get laid- there, I said it! … class dismissed.

passion - păsh′ən noun

• A strong or powerful emotion.
• A powerful emotion, such as anger or joy.
• A state of strong sexual desire or love.

There you have it; end the story now, go out, play with the other mortals, and have fun BEING alive.

One does not talk about passion one FEELS passion. So stop talking, start feeling - got it, my friend?

Passion connects you to your ‘why.’ It’s the force that powers your ability to overcome obstacles. Passion is a feeling - positive or negative. It’s cravings and aversions.

Wait, Daniel-Ibrahim, Did you say earlier that talking about passion is BS - so why are you talking about passion now? Fair enough. Let me segue into the topic of emotions.

Feelings as a subjective representation of emotions are often private to the individual experiencing them. However, emotion is often the driving force behind motivation, positive or negative.

I stumbled across Paul Ekman’s research, which led him to classify six emotions as fundamental: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. - Yup, I’m full of that, sometimes on the same day!

Perhaps coaches talk about passion because it’s a powerful motivator, and they figure talking about what motivates you is the solution to getting you off your sorry ass. -I can say that because I’ve been there, done that often.

Compare Ekman’s list to Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of 72 Emotions (Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion), and on any given day, ask yourself, which of the 72 emotions did I experience today? What am I feeling now at this moment?

Then capture the associated physical sensations in your body related to each feeling. Perhaps journal your answers and look for patterns (keener).

Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of 72 Emotions

I’ve highlighted the positive words that relate to passion.

• Affection, Anger, Angst, Anguish, Annoyance, Anxiety, Apathy, Arousal, Awe
• Boredom
• Confidence, Contempt, Contentment,
• Courage, Curiosity
• Depression, Desire, Despair,
• Disappointment, Disgust, Distrust, Dread
• Ecstasy, Embarrassment, Envy, Euphoria, Excitement
• Fear, Frustration
• Gratitude, Grief, Guilt
• Happiness, Hatred, Hope, Horror, Hostility, Hurt, Hysteria
• Indifference, Interest
• Jealousy, Joy
• Loathing, Loneliness, Love, Lust
• Outrage
• Panic, Passion, Pity, Pleasure, Pride
• Rage, Regret, Relief, Remorse
• Sadness, Satisfaction, Self-confidence,
• Shame, Shock, Shyness, Sorrow, Suffering, Surprise
• Terror, Trust
• Wonder, Worry
• Zeal, Zest

Matching the correct words to describe what you feel is what I call “Emotional Literacy.”

Unfortunately, most of us are emotionally illiterate and need to understand the connection between emotion, motivation, behaviour and words.

My passion looks and feels like this: show the world yours.

Here’s a video I crafted a few years back. As you’ll see, I’m passionate about my sailboat, expressed as a sense of joy.

As an aside, I had a blast producing this piece on Apple’s Final Cut Pro Application.

“I’ve shown you my sense of joy; now, feel free to show me yours (No dirty pics, eh!) ” ~ Daniel-Ibrahim

How do you express what you love? What sensations do you feel? This is what joy feels like - - embrace more of it.

It’s my life, and I’ll live it on my terms. I’m blessed enough to do what I want, when I want, with who I want, the way I want, for the reasons I want, as long as I do so with love and integrity.

Let’s refine Robert Plutchiks Wheel of 72 Emotions and focus on any of the 24 positive sensations listed below;

Awe, Confidence, Contentment, Courage, Curiosity, Ecstasy, Euphoria, Excitement, Gratitude, Happiness, Hope, Interest, Joy, Love, Pleasure, Pride, Relief, Satisfaction, Self-confidence, Surprise, Trust, Wonder, Zeal, Zest

Refine the list to three sensations that label your mood over the last few hours.

If you can’t pull anything positive from the list, ask yourself if it’s an issue and if something is missing in your life. - a topic for another time.

We often use the word passion in a positive context for personal development, goal setting and finding one’s real purpose. But in reality, you can select any word from this list of 24, and you’d be talking about passion.

Positive sensations are a critical element of any successful journey. To succeed, you must understand the dynamics of your cravings and aversions; What makes you tick?

Too much of one sensation is a deep, sometimes overwhelming emotion that can lack reasoning and get you in a whole shitload of trouble.

Positive sensations will help you go above and beyond the call of duty in any battle. Experiencing positive emotions is more important than pursuing money because these emotions bring joy into your life.

Positive sensations are why you do what you do, not what you own or control.

Embrace a warm joy sensation, and you’ll be motivated toward instead of away from something.

Misguided passion, such as a crime of passion or irrationality, short-sighted, blind outbursts, fanaticism, compulsive thinking, rage and overreaction, is unhealthy. - but I’m sure you knew that.

When any emotion becomes an obsession, you are OUT of balance. This imbalance can lead to burnout at work, not to mention alienating your friends and family.

In addition, obsessing over everything you do will trap you into blinders, focusing only on the result at all costs. - not cool.

‘Without my work, I am nothing’ - Oh really?; How’s that working for you? Be mindful that you don’t end up so wrapped up in an outcome that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Do you live to work or work to live?

Ask yourself why you love something (or someone) so much. It’s ok to find this thing you love rewarding and joyful. However, if you are chasing an ego-boost or social status, that’s not a good thing.

Getting lost in something (I lost all track of time) is fine, but ask yourself, ‘What else am I besides ‘this’, and what other parts of my life do I care about?’

We aim to push a few emotional buttons now and again and get you thinking beyond convention or tradition when it comes to LIVE, LOVE and LEARN a proud life on YOUR terms.

In love and passion,

Daniel & Ibrahim

By the way, how did I do?

Let me know if this writing was another lame piece about passion or if I presented a twist that’s more inspiring and pleasant to read.

I’m trying to sound less Social Work or Life Coachy these days, but it can be challenging given the clients I’ve had to appease in the past.

I love (passionately) a more direct, witty sense of openness in my voice. People appreciate less formality and a more conversational blogging style here.