When you create, you can be fueled by many things: necessity, obligation, want, envy, boredom—just to name a few. But the best fuel for your creativity, by a long shot, is passion. That’s why, in
, we talk about what it means to light your fire. Take a listen by clicking the play button below, and read on for an overview of what it means to light your fire.
What does it mean to light your fire?
Lighting your fire means identifying and using what you are passionate about in order to fuel your creativity.
Why is it important to light your fire?
Many people go through life on a “default” setting. They take what comes to them, when it comes. They get stuck in routines, and coast through life in their comfort zone.
The problem? That is no way to live your best, biggest, most complete life.
Here are three reasons why it’s important to discover your passion and light your fire.
Passion is contagious.
Have you ever met someone that truly loves what they’re doing? If so, you can’t deny that their passion is contagious. The excitement and love that someone feels for their passion moves beyond that person and infects those around them.
Think about going to a sporting event. When the fans around you have passion for the game, when they’re clapping and yelling and really getting into it, it makes you want to get into it too. And when you do, everyone else gets louder, until the collective passion is almost overwhelming.
This matters, because if you have passion and are able to share it with others, their positive response will strengthen your passion further. When you create from the heart, that resonates with people.
Passion fuels action.
“There are so many good things we can do, but when we focus on those few great things, we’re able to get so much more done and feel a lot happier.”
create Happy podcast, Ep. 1
Passion is also important because it fuels action.
We all only have so many hours in the day. We can’t do everything, and we probably wouldn’t want to, anyway. But when we have passion, we’ll want to take action that supports that passion.
Think of it this way: if you have a project that you aren’t passionate about, but that you have to do, it will feel like a slog. But if you have a project that you are passionate about, you are going to be compelled to make time for that project.
(Notice I said you’ll be compelled to take action, not necessarily that you will take action right away. As we discuss in the podcast, there are things that get in the way of our passions and prevent us from really tapping into them or using them. Some passion projects sit on the shelf for years, but we’re always going to be drawn to them, because we’re passionate about them.)
The bottom line is that when you identify what your passion is, it’s going to make you want to take action. It will “light a fire” under you, so to speak. And when things get tough, it’s the passion that will keep you going.
Passion leads to self-discovery and happiness.
“Who are you?”
It’s one of the simplest, and yet the most complex, questions you can ask a person.
Who you are—who you really are—often gets distorted by who you think you should be.
But I can tell you from experience: living a life based on who you think you should be, or what others want you to be, is not the way to live a life that makes you truly happy.
The best way to be truly happy is to live, completely and unapologetically, as yourself. And that means knowing and embracing what you are really passionate about.
Finding and using your passions
In the podcast, we talk about our own experiences with identifying our passions, realizing what gets in the way of our passions, and finding creative solutions to those problems.
One example I talk about is music.
Music has been a passion of mine for my entire life, but it never quite fit the mold in terms of what I felt like I was “supposed” to do, or who other people expected me to be. I used to feel ashamed about it, and I did my best to tune out the music in my head and focus on what I “should” do.
What changed? You’ll have to listen to find out, and to hear about some of the other things my co host Shawn and I are passionate about. But I can tell you that music is now something that I am proudly passionate about, and it has enriched my life in ways I could never have imagined.
So how can you find and use your passions? Start with the “What Lights Your Fire?” worksheet. This exercise uses thought-provoking questions to guide you through the experience of identifying your passions, pinpointing why you aren’t pursuing them, and helping you create a plan to live a more passionate life.
When you find your passion, you light your fire. It’s time to discover what you love, be who you are, and create happy in your life.
Subscribe to Create Happy wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out Design.org Plus for all the premium features and services Design.org has to offer. Your happiest self is waiting.
