What is “Owning Your Passion”?

However, passion is not a person, place, or thing. Passion is simply energy. It’s what you feel when you are energized and excited about what you are doing. It’s what drives you. This feeling of energy is different for each and every one of us and no one can or should be telling you what you need to be doing to find your passion.

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
-Oprah Winfrey

How many times have you heard or been told to “follow your passion?” These days, I think it’s in almost every graduation address. What does it really mean, though? Is passion something you follow? If passion is energy then it’s not a person, a job, or a hobby, but a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm created inside you when you are engaged in a particular activity. It’s really about finding that feeling as to what awakens you inside.

I believe passion is not fixed, it is something that can grow and change over time. For example, I am passionate about playing golf. Was I always this way? No. I started playing from a young age and enjoyed going out with my friends and hitting the ball around. My energy came more from spending time with my friends than the game itself. When I was in my mid-twenties, I decided that I either needed to take the game a bit more seriously or give it up altogether. I decided to take the game more seriously and I signed up for golf school. As I began to develop my skills, I started to become more and more passionate about the game. Now, when I’m playing the game well, I’m hugely energized and absolutely love the game.

“If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.”
-Wanda Sykes

I am also passionate about travel. There is an energy I get from exploring new places, meeting new people, and learning new things. However, not everyone sees it this way. Instead of encouraging the growth of our passion, others often discourage us and try to limit our potential. There are also many reasons why I should avoid traveling if I let practicality or other’s ideas regarding travel get in my way.

Some would say it is a waste of money, others may tell me that I should spend my time at home, or that it’s not safe to travel to many of the countries that I travel to. I, however, have found great joy and passion from my interactions with others all over the world. I think I would die a slow death if I didn’t travel. Not traveling isn’t an option for me and at this stage of my life, my friends and family wouldn’t even consider telling me not to travel. It’s become a part of who I am to the very core of my soul.

“It is the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion. “
-Rebecca West

You can’t think your way into your passion. Therefore; allowing yourself to decide your passion based on societal standards or what your parents want you to do, will only lead to frustration, apathy, and negativity. Instead, feel what drives your energy and enthusiasm, what is your inner compass telling you? This is what creates your passion in your life, and I can guarantee you that you will find joy, happiness, and a zest for life.

Whether your passion is berry farming, accounting, writing, singing, dancing, playing the banjo, digging really big holes, hunting for treasure, or reading thought-provoking books, you should pursue it. Don’t let anyone else tell you what is or is not worthy of your time or effort. Our passions are often what drive us the most in the world. They are not to be ignored but let off the chain and allowed to grow and evolve.

Some of the most well-known and influential people followed their passions which lead them to their high status. While that may not be a reason to pursue your passion, it is an undeniable possibility should you take the first, brave step and own yours.

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
-Albert Einstein

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, wanted to write and, while trying to raise her daughter with no money, she didn’t let her circumstances stop her. She had an idea for a book years beforehand and, even in her most struggling times, she pushed on and let her passion drive her

Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir was a French writer, existentialist philosopher, activist, feminist and social theorist. She never stopped fighting to become educated, even among unthinkable oppression, and she is one of the most well-known voices of feminist theory.

Passion is, in the simplest terms, what gives you happiness through what you do. It’s what makes it possible for you to talk endlessly about your accomplishments and goals. It is what gets you over those hurdles of self-doubt and the pesky gremlins many people face at one time or another. It’s the light in the darkness, the burst of “I’ve got this” in the most overwhelming of times, the vehemence of your resilience and inspiration.

So, what is owning your passion? It’s really about showing up in life, taking responsibility and finding that feeling inside of you that brings excitement and enthusiasm into your life. It’s about really caring about what you are doing. You need to push through your fears, insecurities, and limiting beliefs, so that others can feel your energy and the essence of you.

“It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind.”
-T. S. Eliot