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The single most powerful attribute you can have in your life is enthusiasm. People with passion stand out. They inspire others. And they have the type of influence that creates amazing opportunities. And enthusiasm can work in an almost vital way – when you think back about occasions in your life where you’ve met someone with this rare quality, you usually walk away feeling pretty fired up yourself. You can make a decision to be one of these people yourself. Enthusiasm and zest for life can be a conscious choice – and it will benefit your life for the better.
Summoning Up Your Personal Power
Making the choice to live life with passion gives you a lot of power. It creates energy, changes interpersonal dynamics and makes things happen. Things happen when we approach life with an open heart and mind. Not only do other people respond to us differently, but we have a different relationship with ourselves. A life lived with inspiration and drive is a changed experience.
Find Who You Are
It’s very hard to be enthusiastic about your life when it isn’t authentically yours. Are you doing what you really want to be doing? Or are you following what others have chosen for you, or modelling your life too closely on someone else’s? True confidence and enthusiasm can only come from making our own choices. Take some time to discover your personal values, and that simple exercise will give you a framework. Is what you’re doing compatible with these values? If not, then it’s unlikely that you will find a true passion in it. Whether it’s travelling the world, starting your own business or retraining for a career that is going to reflect who you truly are, you have the power to make a change for your own happiness.
Taking Charge Of Your Self-Development
We feel fulfilled when we are working towards a goal and growing as people. Make it a recurring item in your schedule to invest in yourself. It could be listening to a self-help podcast that is going to motivate you, reading at least one great article a day that will expand your mind or develop your business or finding a mentor who can help you to supercharge your career. If there is a wider, underlying problem that’s going to stop you finding your enthusiasm, then you also need to address that. This could mean talking it out with a close friend or seeking some form of therapy to let go of a past trauma. Whatever it is that’s knocking you off balance, learn to let it go. There’s simply no point living in the past. Take the lesson from it and help yourself to move on by setting new goals for the future which fire you up.
Get Real With Goal Setting
Having a goal in life is the route to feeling on the right track and enjoying the journey to get there. But setting goals in the right way is key to the process. Make sure that what you want to achieve is realistic – aiming for the stars is commendable, but it’s very easy to get discouraged if you are going a while without seeing any process. To stay motivated, break your overall goal down into smaller stages. Think carefully about exactly how you will achieve each one. What barriers might you encounter along the way? How will you tackle them? This gives you a road map to success on a very practical level. The feeling that you’re on the road to where you ultimately want to be is what’s going to give you renewed enthusiasm about what you’re doing, and make you the kind of motivated person that others love to be around.
Embrace Failure
Often, despite our grand plans, we fail because when we encounter a setback, we don’t understand how to handle it in a positive manner. We let the fear of failure or embarrassment hold us back, and think it better not to risk looking silly or pitiable somehow than to achieve what we truly want in life. One of the major secrets to happiness and success is actually embracing failure as an essential part of the process. Ask anyone who has achieved something remarkable and failure is usually a key component of their eventual triumph. That’s because failure teaches you valuable lessons that you simply don’t get if you never experience any kind of adversity. It’s a part of life that is extremely important. Experiencing a setback shouldn’t shatter your enthusiasm – use it to spur yourself on to greater heights instead. Rise to the challenge. Worry about failure is a learned phenomenon only seen in adults – children don’t worry about getting it wrong. Find your inner child and learn to ignore your inner critic when it comes to going for what you love.
