Reading Time: est. 10 minutes
Our culture loves to talk about passion. It’s a hot word. “Find your passion.” “Follow your passion.” Etc. etc. etc.
I’m as guilty as the next person of using and misusing that word. Passion is about what moves you. Passion is about what makes you come alive. In short, passion matters.
What we don’t realize about passion is that it’s not just a feel good fun word to throw around (like it’s cousin “yolo”). Passion costs you something.
If you look up passion in the dicitonary, you’ll find something like this:
pas·sion (ˈpaSHən/) noun
- strong and barely controllable emotion.
- the suffering and death of Jesus.
If you look up the origin, you’ll find that “passion” come from the Latin, pati — which means “to suffer”. (Here’s proof: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passion .)
We don’t talk about passion in terms of suffering, but it’s time that we started.
The things you are passionate about are not simply the things that make you feel good and come alive– they are also that things that you’re willing to fight for.
What are those things for you? What would you go to battle for? What do you so deeply desire enough to endure heartache for? What’s the hill that you’re willing to die on?
I know , I know, that is all very dramatic, but it’s also a helpful measure of what matters to you.
If you truly desire something, you will be willing to work for it.
If you know what that is, then you should pursue it. If you simply enjoy something, but don’t want to suffer for it, then you have a nice hobby. This is one of the differences between hobby and life-work.
Here’s a caveat— if you have no idea what you truly desire, and the question of “what are you willing to suffer for?” is utterly confusing and unhelpful, don’t be discouraged! That’s because you have other questions that you need to ask first.
In the comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts on suffering for your passion. What is the meaning that you desire to make? Click here to leave a comment!
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