Finding the Passion

This week, after writing my most successful article ever, I learned something about myself. Whether I'm writing, being an engineer, or just living my life, I put forth the most effort and produce the best results when I'm truly passionate about something. For when I am truly passionate, I'm able to find my true voice and really put power, weight and meaning behind the things I am doing. And when those things go well, it fuels my passion and motivation further.

So naturally, knowing that I write and live my life best under those circumstances, I began to wonder how I can start to do this in every aspect of my life. I've found it's really easy to write when I feel passionate about something, but what about the times when I don't have that strong belief or feeling? It's infinitely easier to do my day job when I find the part of it that I truly love and that makes my eyes light up, but what happens when I don't enjoy the work? There's lots of times in our lives where we do things because we have to and not because we want to or because we feel driven to do them.

We all love having that little voice in our head, feeling that drive to excel or finding the wonder in the things we do. But what happens when that voice isn't there or when the drive is absent? I usually ask myself, am I doing this because I have to or because I want to. I have to wonder if I'm asking the wrong question. It's not always about have and want, but about why something is important or why it needs to be done. It's in part finding that silver lining, but it's also in realizing that just because you aren't finding the passion or drive doesn't mean someone else isn't.

I think there is passion in everything that we do on a daily basis, we just have to find it and grab hold of it. Despite the horrible things we sometimes have to do, at some level we could be fueling the passion of others. So the next time I'm struggling to find the passion in my writing, or the drive to finish a work project that's giving me a headache, I'm going to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I'm going to ask myself, am I driving my passion or someone else's. And whatever the answer, I think knowing that I'm driving someone, even if it isn't myself, will make doing the things I do that much better.