Does Life Balance Mean Life without Passion?

Posted in Balanced Mind and Soul | April 24, 2010 | 9 Comments

This post was written by Anastasiya. Follow me on Twitter or StumbleUpon and keep your life balanced!

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Passion … it seems to be the most popular topic online now. Everybody is looking for passion in life, everybody is talking about the importance of it and everybody can’t imagine life without it. What is passion? Do you have it in your life? How do you develop it? I have even written a guest post about how to turn your passion into a business for Dragos Roua (one of my favorite bloggers by the way:-))

A question that I have seen a few times already is “Does life balance mean that you can’t follow your passion in life?” If you have asked yourself the same question then here are a few of my thoughts on this subject.

Passion is an essential part of life balance in my opinion. Why? If you have passion then you have something to live for, you have goals to aspire for, you have dreams to reach, and you have inspiration to get you through life.

However, there is a difference between passion and obsession. When you follow your passion you can still look around and see what else is going on in the world. If you turn your passion into an obsession then you start living in a tunnel where your world is limited in all directions. Is this what you want in life? I hope not.

Following your passion does not mean forgetting about everything else around you. It means having a driving force that pushes you through life. Of course sometimes when you are focused on your passion you can forget about other areas of your life for a little bit. You shift your life balance slightly to adjust it to your current needs.

Passion is like a car. When you are driving you are concentrated on the road and the car takes you to your destination. However, if you start driving too fast then you might lose control of your car. If you forget to look out for other cars around you then again you have a high probability of getting into a wreck. You have to balance your focus between the road and your speed while concentrating on everything that is going on around you.

You know that we are not talking about a mathematically balanced life here. We are talking about the natural balance of life that is peaceful, flexible and gives room for growth in any direction. It is great to have passion in life and it does not mean that we have to forget about our families, about our friends, about our health or about our finances.

Some people have lived without any type of balance in life and these people are pure geniuses (Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Leo Tolstoy and many others.) However, not all of us are geniuses like that and that’s absolutely wonderful that we aren’t. Can you imagine if the average person could whip up an atomic bomb in the basement when they feel disgruntled at work? Who would care about beautiful paintings if everybody could draw masterpieces? Who would want to go to a concert if all of us could sing and compose music as easy as just talking? Don’t you think that life would lose its charm if all of us were equally gifted? I think that most people need natural balance in their lives.

Living a life of passion is very rewarding as well as living a life of natural balance. I can even say that for most of us combining balance and passion is the utmost rewarding experience and the best way to live a life of happiness and purpose. Here is a small guide that can help you combine both in your life:

Follow your passion without forgetting what else brings happiness into your life.
Be focused without being obsessed.
Be a person who is willing to grow even if it means outgrowing your passion at some point.
Don’t lose yourself in your passion. After all it is just one part of your life.
Use everything around you as inspiration and nourishment for your passion.
Don’t be selfish. Following your passion does not mean that your loved ones must live in your shadow or suffer because you don’t give them enough attention and love.
Look in the future. What do you see in your life 5, 10, 20 years from now? What will be your passion then? Will you be happy with what you have accomplished in life?
Be aware of your body and soul. Stop frequently and make sure that you are doing the right thing and your passion is not draining you physically or emotionally.
Don’t try to divide your time equally between different areas of your life. You will only stress yourself out. Just relax and go with the flow of your passion and life.

What do you think about passion and life balance? Can they coexist or do you have to live the life of extremes in order to follow your passion? What is your passion and how does it fit into your life? And don’t forget,

Keep it balanced!

Smart Thoughts (9)

Farnoosh says:

April 24, 2010 at 6:32 am

Anastasiya, a very good articulation between passion and obsession – which is definitely what our geniuses had turned their passion into but of course it benefited the whole world for eternity, so in a way, I would say it also is a huge sacrifice if we turn that passion into the one and only living reason, the pure obsession that you reference….thank you for referencing Prolific living too!

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- Anastasiya says:
  
  April 24, 2010 at 8:34 pm
  
  Hi Farnoosh,
  thank you for giving me inspiration for this post I agree that some people (like geniuses) devote their lives to complete obsessions and they find their own satisfaction and joy in that sort of life. However, most of us probably won’t feel very happy if our lives are so one-sided. Everyone must choose what works for him/her and only this personal choice will bring the life of happiness and satisfaction.
  
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Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey says:

April 24, 2010 at 1:18 pm

I think that passion is a very key ingredient in creating balance in life because with out it there is no direction. You said it very well in fact, without passion we have nothing to shoot for and personally one of the greatest aspects of living is having something that I love to do to look forward to in life. This is a very interesting post that you’ve brought up. It’s very thought provoking. Thanks for sharing!!

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- Anastasiya says:
  
  April 24, 2010 at 8:35 pm
  
  Thanks Jarrod for sharing your thoughts on this issue. I also feel that passion is an essential part of life.
  
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Steve says:

April 25, 2010 at 10:31 am

Anastasiya, thanks for this article. You really articulate well the different issues involved, balance vs passion. The list on incorporating passion into a balanced life is a great starting point and guide. My own thoughts are that for most people, having a balanced life which includes a few things they are passionate about, is the ideal. On the other hand, some people are happier pursuing that one thing they are truly passionate about. It’s up to the individual to decide which is the best course for them. A life without any passion in it would probably be pretty dull. The other extreme, being completely passionate 24/7 is a little hard to take too.

In my own life I generally followed my own interests, but I’m sure I was actually passionate about them. Are there ways to increase passion?

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Catrien Ross says:

April 25, 2010 at 10:49 pm

Anastasiya, thank you so much for another inspiring post, and especially for your balanced guide.

Passion may indeed be the flavor of the month, yet I feel an important awareness is that passion is not really something that can be taught or developed. Passion within you is there because it is an energy that already vibrates within you. You can spend years of your life ignoring or suppressing your passion or passions. You can also step into the courage that expresses that passion. Obsessions seem to be single-minded expressions of mental constructs or behavior patterns. Passion, as I see it, is an inner fire that lights how you move through your entire life, and it can be expressed in many different ways, at many different stages of your journey.

Thank you for sharing your insightful thoughts – I always receive such a gift of wisdom when I drop by.

Greetings from the mountains in Japan – it is a glorious morning here – Catrien Ross.

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Mark says:

April 26, 2010 at 12:44 pm

Excellent thoughts on passion and a balanced life. There must be passion, without passion we feel and are out of balance, we are not aligned with our authentic self. You are wise to discern between passion and obsession for they are very different yet only a thin line separates them.

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Dawn @ Self Help Motivation says:

April 27, 2010 at 1:49 am

Great tips, Anastasiya! In addition to your wonderful tips, I think it’s important to figure out a person’s underlying values which include his passions and wants. As a result, this would help him focus on the positive aspects of his life. Furthermore, this would help a person maintain a balance in his life because focusing on the positive allows a person to be more open-minded.

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Cheryl Paris says:

April 27, 2010 at 5:46 am

Hey Anastaysia,

Balance does not mean a mathematical thing. And this is what I try to teach my clients. “It means – We are talking about the natural balance of life that is peaceful, flexible and gives room for growth in any direction”.
Great going here! Life without passion is not living it will be ‘existing’.

Bye for now,
Cheryl

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