As Neale Donald Walsch wisely said, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” So my questions to you is: Are you living on the edge? In order to have your most fulfilling, successful life, you have to be brave enough to live on the edge and live a life full of passion.
The courage and passion cycle is a self-reinforcing one, as living with passion will help you be brave, whereas you need to be brave in order to live a life of passion. This is where pursuing a passionate way of being, a recently discovered positive psychology theory, can help you get started.
Passion is often sen as something that needs to be directed to a specific activity or something. Recent research has showed that passion doesn’t have to be that limiting. By choosing to pursue a passionate way of being, you choose to bring your passion out into all aspects of your life, and live a more fulfilling life where you feel energised and free. It is this sense of freedom which will also help you to find your courage to spot the opportunities and try new challenges.
What is a Passionate Way of Being?
Below you can find some of the key elements which will help you to find your passion and your courage by pursuing a passionate way of being.
1. Follow a purpose authentic to who you are.
In order to be able to fully embrace passion, you need to understand what’s most important to you and think and behave accordingly. Build a life based on your top values, on what makes you happiest, on why you do what you do.
2. Identify what kind of positive impact you want to have on the world.
What is it that you want to create or contribute to that makes the world awesome? Think about the mark you want to leave on the planet and what you want to be known for. Living a life that’s aligned with this positive impact will bring the passion out of you and give you the courage to keep going.
3. Pursue variety with your natural strengths.
Research has repeatedly shown how using you strengths give you more enjoyment in what you do and makes you perform better. There is a danger in overusing them if you really get into them, but it’s less likely to happen when you pursue variety with them.
This is really just the beginning of your brave passion journey, but it’s about taking that first step in acknowledging you want to live an extraordinary life full of passion.
If you’re hungry for more, Susanna will be speaking at the annual Purple Beach event in April
2014. You can also check her work here: Happyologist.co.uk
