When the end comes for you, how will you be remembered? Will your friends and family be giving speeches, admiring the details of the passionate life you lived? Or will it be a trivial gathering, where hardly anyone shows up?
WHO WANTS TO LIVE WITH PASSION?
Will they be saying, “Here rests _______(your name here), he/she was born on this date, died on this date, and today is their burial, R.I.P., the end.”? And that’s it, that’s all they will be saying because you eked your way through life, you took your days for granted, and while you may have been alive, you didn’t really live.
Or, will they be saying, “Here rests ________ (your name here), he/she was really on fire for life! They didn’t take the days they had on this planet for granted. They made every moment count, they lived every day with zeal and a zest for life. They truly lived with passion!”?
Now, I have a hunch at what your answer might be. Because really, who doesn’t want to live with passion?
Everybody wants to live with passion when they really think about it. But many of us forget what we want amidst the predictability of everyday life.
And in some cases, many just don’t know how to start. They want to live life to its fullest, but they don’t know where to begin.
If you are the type of person who knows what it takes to live the life they truly want, but you’ve somehow forgotten to start living it, this post will serve as a good reminder and kick in the pants.
Or, if you are one of the few, who just don’t know where to begin, this page will a good starting point.
The bottom line is this, if you want to live with passion, put away the distractions and read this list with undivided attention…
HOW TO LIVE WITH PASSION
1. Stop Hanging Around With The Wrong People
Sorry to be blunt (actually, no I am not). If you hang around losers, i.e. people who aren’t going anywhere, or don’t want to do anything with their lives, guess how they are going to make you feel when you decide to start doing something that injects your life with more passion?
That’s right, they will try to make you feel like something is wrong with you. They’ll try to make you feel like your weird, or crazy.
You can always tell who the wrong people are by how they try to make you feel when you attempt to live your life to its fullest. They try to bring you down, make you doubt yourself, or make you feel less than you know you are. Sometimes it’s a very subtle belittling, so pay attention.
There is a thing called crab mentality, which is basically the thinking that…”If I can’t have it, neither can you”. And many of these loser friends that most of us have, will see you making moves, changes, and doing things that indicate you are living a life of passion, that you are living life the way it is supposed to be lived. And, just like the crabs in a bucket, they’ll try to sabotage your efforts. They’ll do their utmost to pull you back into their pot of misery.
So drop the zeros, and start hanging out with other heroes.
2. Change Your Focus
If you want to live with passion, if you want to live an exciting, positive life, then this step is a must. Decide to change your focus.
And when I say change your focus, I mean make it a priority to focus on only those things that uplift you and make you feel good.
A great place to start, is to stop watching all that negative news and noise out there. Main stream media knows we humans are suckers, conditioned to protect ourselves from all forms of danger. And they know we will eat up their every word, because they lace it with fear, crisis, anger, and all those scary and unpleasant scenarios that we associate with danger.
The thing is, by consuming too much of the negative noise pushed by our major media outlets, we program ourselves into believing the world is a screwed-up place. And it’s not!
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying to be all Pollyanna, or be like an ostrich with his head in the sand. But, it is important that you don’t let all the disaster, danger, and death peddled by the media on the daily, become your reality.
Why? Because, living with passion is all about living life to it’s fullest. It’s about focusing on the good, (understanding there is bad), but attempting to live at great.
3. Change Your Mindset
The world-renowned psychologist, Carol S. Dweck, discovered that there are two types of mindsets that people maintain in their lives.
One is a fixed mindset, and the other is a growth mindset.
A person with a fixed mindset believes that their intelligence or talents are fixed traits. Meaning, they can’t be changed. Such a person believes that their success, or the quality of their life, is, and will be determined by the talents they were born with.
But a person with a growth mindset isn’t stuck on the faulty premise, that luck, success, or their station in life is predetermined by how much talent they were born with. The person with a growth mindset believes in the value effort. They have the mindset that they can control their destiny, become stronger, smarter, and better through concentrated effort and determination.
People with a growth mindset increase their chances of finding more success, accomplishment, and happiness, because they believe they can do so.
Change your mindset, and you can change your life.
And if you are wondering, “But what does mindset have to do with passion?”
Well, you can’t live life your life to its fullest if you have a limited (fixed) mindset.
4. Follow Your Fire
If you want to live with passion, you must do that thing which excites you the most in life. Even if you can’t drop everything and do it right away, you have to at least, eventually chase that thing. If you want to live with passion, you have to do that thing that really brings joy to your life. You have to follow your fire.
What do I mean by follow your fire?
Well, If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to be an artist, make art. Or if you want to downsize, buy a tiny house and live off the grid, go do it.
And if you can’t do it for whatever reason (like financial, time, prior commitments), you should at least be making moves to make it happen. Make it a plan or a goal and go for it.
To live your life to it’s fullest, you have to live your life. You need to make sure you are striving to do those things that bring you most to life.
5. Have More Fun
To live with passion means to live full out, to be in a state or mode of trying to squeeze every last ounce of awesome from this life of yours. And we both know, that life is not all about work.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”
I believe there is some wisdom in the saying, work hard play hard.
You never hear people say, “work tepid, play tepid”. That’s because it’s boring, and does not make for living full out. The crazy thing is, some people live that way.
Playing, having fun, and doing things we enjoy doing with friends and family adds fuel to the fire of life. So be sure to have some fun!
(Disclaimer: Don’t Go Too Crazy! Everything in Moderation)
6. Stop Making Excuses
The people who get to live the life they truly want, are people who have taken full responsibility for their lives.
Take responsibility for everything that happens in your life. When things don’t go as planned, take ownership of it. People who always make excuses as to why things don’t work out in their favor, can’t grow from them.
This is important to note, because people who don’t believe they can achieve more, or grow, aren’t going to try. And people who don’t try, end up stunting their emotional growth.
And a person with stunted emotions can’t feel fully, and what is passion but feeling and living at our max?
So, if you want to live with passion, the excuses got to go.
7. Be a Little Selfish
It is important to take care of yourself first. I know this may sound crazy to some, but really, you’re not doing yourself a favor when it comes to living fully, if you are dragging your feet along the way.
I mean, if it is your passion to sacrifice your every waking moment for someone else, then by all means, go for it. But not everyone is born to be Mother Teresa. And that is the kicker, do what you want to do first, then consider what others want.
If you don’t, some people will take advantage of you to the detriment of your happiness.
When you take care of you first, you create the conditions to be passionate about life. When you feel obligated to put your interests last, you dampen your fire.
Think about it. Has there ever been a time when you felt forced to do something you didn’t really want to be doing? I’ll bet you didn’t bring all of you to the plate. I’ll bet you weren’t as jazzed up as you would have been, had you been doing what you really wanted to be doing.
Sometimes, you’ll have to do things out of obligation, but don’t make it a way of life. If you do, living your life to its fullest won’t be possible.
Why? Because you’ll be helping some one else live their life to it’s fullest.
8. Take Some Risks
You’ve seen those movies or read those books that included people who never took any risks right? The stories always include a major character who is going through something interesting. They are in the mix of things, you know? But those characters who are kind of just meh, are easily forgotten. Those characters are only remembered in the context of the hero, the villain, or the character doing things, taking risks, and mixing it up.
In short, don’t be “that character”. Be bold, mix things up a bit in your life, and don’t live a life that is only remembered in the context of others! Be the hero of your own story, and start taking some risks!
(Disclaimer: Take Calculated Risks….Don’t Get Yourself Killed)
9. Get Outside More
If you want to live with more passion, getting outside more will help.
Put down the remote control, turn off the video games, unplug from the internet, and just get outside. Specifically, somewhere out in nature.
Sunshine, the outdoors, and being in nature is great for your spirits. There is even science that backs this up. According to this study conducted at Stanford University: urban populations tend to have higher rates of mental illness, anxiety, and depression. And the reason is, because urban populations don’t get out in nature enough.
And I am sure I don’t need to say it, but if you are always feeling anxious or depressed, it’s going to be real hard to get fired about your life.
10. Drink More Coffee
Yes, I am serious!
Look, there are tons of reasons to drink coffee. Coffee can make you smarter, give you more energy, and make you happier. The health benefits are many.
I am actually drinking coffee right now… and on my 7th cup! Woooooooo!
Really, one of the best reasons to drink coffee is because it can take you from feeling like a zombie to feeling like an action hero in 2 minutes flat.
And the last I checked, feeling like a lifeless, leg-dragging zombie doesn’t lead to passionate living.
So drink some more coffee Yo!
Bonus Tip: To Help You Live With Passion
This is my last piece of advice. Consider it a bonus tip. One of the best methods I’ve used to help me live with more passion, was to start living my life as if I were retired. I know it sounds simple, but this simple mental hack, can actually help you liberate your mindset and free up your thinking to get you doing those things you really want to be doing.
For example, on weekends you can begin by simply seeing yourself as retired. And then seek to do all the things you would be doing if you were actually retired. By tricking your mind like this, you will see your free time in a much more relaxing way. On top of this, you’ll actually help yourself do those things that you really want to do, yet continue to put off till you retire.
So, from now on, start thinking of yourself as retired. And begin living the full life you keep wishing you could be living now! Live with passion today!
FINAL THOUGHTS ON HOW TO LIVE WITH PASSION
I am going to be real with you. It really pisses me off whenever I see some one trudging along through life, living it like it is this experience that is going to last forever. And the people I really shake make head at, are the ones that are living in a form of cruise control. It’s sad, it’s really really sad. To me, it’s akin to someone blowing their nose with a $100 bill.
Yes, life is hard, and we all have our problems, but really, we only get one of these bad boys.
There is so much to live for, and so many things to be consistently fired up about, that it blows me away to think that some people don’t live with passion every single day.
Now, it’s a rarity these days, but anytime I see a person full of life and on fire for living, it brings a smile to my face. It also makes me think, how the world could use more people who truly live with passion.
The great news is, we can all become that person if we really wanted to.
Heck, if you wanted to, you could tear up your old script and become on fire for this life today.
So, will you? Will you choose to live life to it’s fullest, to live life on fire?
If so, just remember to follow these 10 guidelines, and you’ll be well on your way to living your passion!
Till you reach that aim,
STRIVE
The #1 regret people mention while lying on their deathbeds is, “I wish I had the courage to live the life I really wanted”. Don’t let that be you, follow your heart.
