Buy this book by Karen Putz.
Last year, at a writer's seminar, I had the joy of meeting one the most remarkable and passionate people on the planet. Yes..the planet.
She was writing a book about passion. She knew a lot about the topic. Karen began barefoot water skiing in her forties - even though she lost her hearing in a water skiing fall decades earlier. She never let go of her passion and has followed more dreams than most of us can claim.
You might imagine my surprise (WHAT?)when she called to get my take on passion and even greater surprise when I saw our interview (ARE YOU KIDDING?) in her now published book, Unwrapping Your Passion: Creating the Life You Truly Want .
Chapter 19
When Passion Wanes
“If you have the courage to begin, you
have the courage to succeed.”
~ David Viscott
When was the last time you had a spark?
When was the last time you had a change and it was wonderful for you?
Those are the questions life coach Kathy Larson uses when exploring a client’s desire for a life of joy and meaning. Kathy trained with Brené Brown, and she is a certified Daring Way Facilitator and Life Coach.
“Most people are looking for their next thing,” says Kathy.
“They’ve had some awakening, a breakthrough. They get to a point where they say, ‘Enough of this crap! This isn’t working. I need help!’ They realize they need something different. That’s the starting point.”
It comes down to what you value, Kathy explained. What do you value? What are you about? How do others describe you—does that fit with what you know to be true about yourself? Dig deep enough into your values and you’ll find your passion.
“Passion is a deep sense, almost like a longing. It’s something that’s really, really hard to control—it’s strong—almost like a yearning, a strong feeling that pulls you. It will grab your attention. When you find and define your passion, you can’t ignore it. It’s a love for something so strong you can’t let go of it.”
“I believe we are born curious,” Kathy explained. “We are born seekers. We are figuring out how to be alive—and our purpose is to learn and discover from that curiosity. When you are clear about your purpose, you can move ahead to fulfilling your purpose with passion. Your passion creates connections in the world.”
“But,” I asked Kathy, “what happens when passion wanes? What happens when we lose that spark—how do we get it back?”
“With passion,” Kathy replied, “many people find it during a crisis. ‘Fight or Flight’ is turned on. When there’s a crisis, that’s where we will stand in our strength. And there are times during our life when we step into our purpose, fulfill it, and move on.”
There you have it...