From Pain to Passion
Published on January 19, 2012
From pain to passion. "How do I get there"? is the common refrain. That's what life is afterall. The constant search and subsequent action to idenity what matters in life and then to breath life into it. A great many, including a signifigant number in my business beleive that it is pain that pushes us to do what is necessary to acheive our goals. It does, but only in the short term. The pain of saying, "I'm not going to live like this anymore" is often the impetus to drive activity. Dying of thirst will cause us to walk many many miles in search of a cup of water. Financial ruin that leads to a lack of a shelter and food will cause us to find a second job. A heart attack can push us to eat better and begin to exercise. In the moment there is no question that pain is a great motivator. What I have found and learned throughout my life and in this business is that when the pain subsides, so goes the activity. If it is not replaced by another motivator when the pain begins to abate, we will soon end up right where we began. Growing up as I did with poverty and violence and parent alcoholism pushed me to live on the streets. That breif repreive could have led to a repetition of the same lifestyle if not for passion. It was the discovery of passion that picked up where the pain left off. Passion to have my own home. My own family. My own career and my own place in this world. If not for seeing that standing here allowed me to move there I would in all likelyhood have never moved past where I was. It's the same for us all. Know this. When pain moves you to take action, the motivation to continue will soon disapate if it is not replaced by something else. Choose passion. Otherwise you will be driven once again to confront pain. It's no way to live. Do this then. Look for what moves you and motivates you and makes you smile. The choice is there for us all. The choice to move from pain to passion. Have an excellent day.
