Rekindling our Passion

by Sandy Tritt

Passion. You remember what that feels like, right? When suddenly the world becomes brighter, clearer—like you’ve been living in a black-and-white two-dimensional world and suddenly wake up to brilliant colors in three dimensions. 

Whew! It’s exciting. Whether the object of our passion is a person, religion, organization, hobby—whatever—it’s as though our entire world brightens.

And time? Time no longer exists—as long as we're involved with our passion. Hours disappear in what seems like minutes. Nothing matters except being with our passion.

Yes. Sweet, sweet passion.

And passion not only changes how we view things, it changes how others view us. When we are passionate, others are drawn to us. They feel our excitement, admire our determination, and want to be near the energy our passion generates.

I remember when I was passionate about writing. Nothing could stop me from doing it. I wrote late into the night. I wrote during my lunch break at work. I wrote while stirring spaghetti sauce. I wrote every day. Even though I managed to hold down a demanding career—while also being a wife, mother and housekeeper—the fire of my passion ran hot through my veins and never dissipated.

Until one day, it did.

I’m not sure when it happened. Life is tough, and we deal with a myriad of situations. Growing children. Work problems. Financial difficulties. Marital issues. Aging parents. Health issues. People we love die. It goes on and on. There’s always something to throw water on our flame.  

Yet . . . I’ve always believed that if we’re given a passion to do something, we should do it. It’s our calling in life. We never know when our time on earth will be up. What if we spend our entire lives putting aside our passion to deal with other stuff? What if a bit of depression steals our energy and we get bogged down with just trying to survive? What if we allow our passion to die, taking us along with it?

Fortunately, I am blessed with good friends. They noticed my flame going out. They called me on it. “Why aren’t you working on your novel?” they asked. “Why haven’t you finished that thing yet?”

Oh, I had excuses. Plenty of them. “I don’t have time,” I complained. “My eyes are tired after a long day of work.”

“Send me what you have,” my close friend and co-worker Charl insisted. “Let me help you.” She looked at my novel with fresh eyes, making suggestions, asking questions, adding details.

And something in me stirred. My heart beat a little faster. I wanted to start working on my novel again. I really did. But when? My schedule was already overfull.

More than twenty years ago, when I first started Inspiration for Writers, I had problems with time management. It seemed like I was constantly working, yet I didn't get as much done as I thought I should’ve. My writer friend Rhonda explained how she had set office hours for her work-from-home business. When she was in her home office, she worked only on writing and editing and refused interruptions. And when her workday was done, she closed her computer and didn’t look back. I adopted those policies and found I was not only more productive, but I also had another life, a non-working life.

Of course, work on my own writing was always at the bottom of my to-do list, somewhere after rearranging the alphabet and solving killer sudoku puzzles, so it never happened. But maybe, if I changed my priorities a bit, I could find some time?

I spent a weekend with my novel. My pulse quickened and my energy levels grew. Like discovering the fountain of youth, my heart beat happiness into every cell of my body.

My passion was still there!

That little spark caught hold and soon the fire glowed hot. My thoughts returned to the characters I loved, the story that intrigued me—the story that no one but me could tell, the story I was meant to write.

Better yet, passion creates energy. I needed less sleep, so I had more hours in the day. More importantly, I had more energy.

My passion was back!

I tightened my schedule, eliminated a few time-drains, and reserved an hour a day to spend on me—and sometimes more on weekends. Just me. Just me and my passion.

What about you? Has life taken the heat out of your passion? Have you abandoned your writing because there’s not enough time in a day? Have you allowed your purpose in life to linger at the bottom of your to-do list?  

Email us at IFWeditors@gmail.com. We can help. We offer a free sample edit or consultation to help you rediscover the passion that once energized your life.

And we give away encouragement for free. Just ask!

Because no one should live without passion.

And no one should die without fulfilling his or her purpose.

Visit us at InspirationForWriters.com. We are one of the oldest and most respected writing and editing companies around. Check us out.

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