Day 71: Reclaiming Passion
Sometimes it is just really hard to find the motivation or creativity to do something. Even small tasks that you want to do can be seen as tiresome because the drive to get through something is just not there. This can happen in many areas of our lives, however, what do you do when this happens in areas you are truly passionate about?
Recently, I feel like this has happened in my life when it comes to photography. The last time I shot an image was well over seventy-one days ago and while I have edited one during that time I have not shared it with anyone. When I started college in January, I had no idea how much time it was going to take up. I was well aware that it would take over a lot of my life, but I did not know the full extent.
The passion for creating and capturing images has not gone away. I itch to create and while writing blog posts every day has kept me connected to my creativity, it is truly not the same as watching an image come to life in front of your eyes.
There have definitely been times the last year when I could have dedicated far more time to my photography than I did, however, that drive just did not motivate me forward. I never before realized that you can have the passion to do something, yet lack the drive to pursue that passion. How does one combat this predicament?
While I do not have the perfect answer, it is something I am working on. When we have this passion for something something within us stirs when we do not actively pursue that passion. It can cause this tugging feeling that draws you towards wanting to participate in that which you love doing.
Life can sometimes get in the way, though. We get caught up in the busyness and the crazy activity of our day to day lives and find ourselves pushing away our passion. Maybe it starts with you not having enough time to work it in with our responsibilities, maybe with some other factor. Whatever it may be, we can become disconnected with our passion.
When this happens, remind yourself that the passion is still there. Deep within there is part of you calling out to just do what you love and is dying because it has not be acknowledged in so long. Then do little things.
Start out small, you may want to jump in head first. However, this can cause extra stress because you're may be trying to reintroduce another large aspect into your busy schedule. When we begin small we will see areas in which we will want to get rid of to make room for our passion.
We waste countless hours a day doing pointless tasks. When we begin to pursue our passion again, we will want to make time for it and that will help up to remove some of these time wasters. If we try and jump in head first, we may be overwhelmed by the time wasters, responsibilities, and our passion. In that case what we are used to stays (time wasters) and what we're trying to bring back in (passion) gets pushed out again.
Begin small and work your way back up to a level which you consider to be reasonable. Your passion will guide you and once you reengage with you, you'll be surprised at how naturally it slips into your schedule.
Spend some time this week reclaiming your passion.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt
