Find your PASSION.
Is there anything in your life that lights a fire inside of you? I am not talking about the kind of fire that makes you want to punch someone in the face, although I am very familiar with that feeling. I am talking the kind of fire that that excites you, that makes you want to shout from the rooftops, the kind of fire that makes you feel like you have purpose. That fire is also known as passion.
How much time do you spend doing things that excite you? Things that make you feel like you have a place in this crazy world? This time of year is my FAVORITE. Because one of the many things I am passionate about is goal setting. I love sitting down and really thinking about what I want to accomplish and then making action plans for it. I love helping others do the same. The time is now, friends. One year from today you will wish you picked up those guitar lessons, volunteered at that shelter, bought that plane ticket, started writing that book, tried that new job etc. It doesn’t matter if you are not good at it, what matters is that you love it and that you enjoy it. I think we often confuse passion with talent. Yes, often things that we are skilled at is also a passion of ours. But not always. By doing what you love, you will inspire others. Your joy will be contagious, even if you are not very good right away.
My passion is students, my first few years at AU I thought I knew how to counsel and advise them but I had much to learn. I still have more to learn, but I love it every single day. My passion is fitness and pushing my body to the limits as well as helping others do the same. Does that mean I am the best runner? The strongest? Heck no. As many of you know, I failed more than once this year at achieving some goals. That doesn’t mean it was wrong to go after them. My time will come. Writing has been something I have loved since the second grade. It has been my escape and my release for years. But I kept it to myself. My bookshelves are filled with 20 years of journals. But I never felt that I was “good enough” to share that with the world until recently.
One of the best examples in my life of this so called passion, is my baby brother Justin. He is only 17 years old but since he was in elementary school, he has had a passion for film. He will be the first to admit how much he hates school and not to mention it is pulling teeth to get him to finish homework, yet he will literally stay up until 430 in the morning working on one of his movie projects. At a very young age, he could hold a conversation on the history of film, knew of every Director and all the behind the scenes details of how a particular film was put together. He constantly has had us in awe with his knowledge. It is what he loves, it is his passion. Just this past week, he released his first official movie that he had been working on for years. We rented out our Church basement, got some yummy popcorn and snacks and had all of our family and close friends come support him to watch it. Since he does not have access to official actors for his movies (yet), he utilized almost everybody in our family to be a part of the film, including our grandparents! Despite the fact that most of us got killed in this movie (go figure he loves the thrillers) it was awesome to be able to support him through it and then watch it all take place. He will go only go up from here.
As we were sitting and watching his movie, I could not help but smile at how supportive my family has been of him. This has not been easy for Justin, he does not have any fancy editing software, he doesn’t have a studio and he has a basic video camera, but he did it. You have to start somewhere. My family could easily scold him about going to school for “a real job” or giving up this “silly hobby” of his. But instead, everybody pushes him forward, talking about the day when he will be on the big screen.
Maybe you don’t have that kind of support. That is okay. Those who don’t support you now, will eventually when they see how happy you are. How successful you can be. Sometimes it is hard for others to be supportive because they too at some point were afraid to go after their passions, their dreams. Inspire them. Be the example. Go after what you want in 2014, no excuses. Fuel that fire inside you.
Stay blessed in the mess and HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🙂
