I lost my Passion...

I recently took 3 months off from mountain biking which is a sport that I absolutely love. Near the end of last year life got real busy and time did not allow for it. I recently started riding again and I realized I had a little revelation.

Before I took this 3 month break I was riding a pretty decent level and I was pretty solid cardio condition. Now, I wasn’t going to win any races, but I could go out on some respectable trails and throw down 15 to 20 miles with no problem. I was riding with some guys who were much better than me, and they always pushed me to another level of riding. (That is a lesson for another time)

But I had a small revelation the other day. In the midst of getting in good shape and riding hard… I had lost the original passions for why I started mountain biking in the first place. The reasons where simple and consisted of three things:

• The love of the outdoors, sun, fresh air, and amazing scenery of the Sonoran desert. Sun and scenery can do amazing things for your outlook and mental health.
• I love biking, and I always have. When I was growing up, I always had a bike and bikes were always a part of my life. I love the adrenaline that comes with the risk factor of mountain biking.
• Getting in shape is the third reason, and it was actually a byproduct of doing something that I love. When I started riding again, sometime in 2010, I was much heavier than I am now. When riding became a lifestyle, the weight start dropping off.

Now, here is the kicker. I did not start mountain biking to get in shape. I started biking because it made me feel alive again and gave me the opportunity to get outdoors. But over time, I got better and started using GPS applications to track my times on different trails. I got faster and posted some respectable trail times and slowly riding became a bit more competitive. I would then compare my times and distance with others I was following using this GPS app.  This was all fine and good….but I lost the passion along the way…and IT STARTED TO FEEL LIKE A JOB OR A TASK TO COMPLETE! There is a nothing wrong with that, and I am not afraid of hard work. But the passion was left in the dust. (pun intended)

I realized this when I started riding again after my 3 month break. I decided to go back the core reason of “Why” I started riding in the first place. I am not riding again to beat any records or prove anything to anyone. I am riding again because I love being outdoors, I love riding bikes, and love the benefits of being in shape.

Now when I ride, I am going to stop to gaze at beautiful scenery (instead of pumping out 15 miles nonstop) and take out my smart phone and take pictures. (Photography is another thing I love…bundle pack bonus!) I guess this is the modern day digital equivalent to “smelling the roses”. 

So, I share all this with you to ask you one simple question; what is something you used to be passionate about that has now become work? How can you find a way back to your original passion?

(Hint: Discover why you were passionate about it in the first place, and go dig the why up)

Sometimes hitting reset in your thinking is all you need. Reboot the old hard drive. Here is the truth. If I keep riding because I am passionate about it I will ride as a lifestyle and therefore, enjoy the benefits of being in shape. If riding becomes a task or more work...it will not be my "go to" for relaxation as a lifestyle. I already work enough...I don't need any more. 

Much Love….Keep living…I’ll keep peddling. 

Intentional Passion

Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt like a you were surfing a wave of momentum that made you feel you were just along for the ride? Or, maybe in speaking of your spiritual life you would say you were experiencing a spiritual "mountain top" time in your life. It seems that during these times life is much more focused and clear. Maybe you get motivated to start getting healthy and you get some small victories under your belt and you are excited that change has finally arrived. I love those times....when you are rolling along and the tide is going your way.

And then..... Life Happens. The day in and day out grind of life life slowly takes your momentum away. Maybe you go through a time when work is stressing you out, the kids aren't behaving, and the car needs expensive repairs...and all of this this happens at once. 

You try and push through and muster up the will power to keep your recent victories and goals in focus but you start to lose vision. Man...I really want to be a passionate guy but it seems like in those times real passion looks a lot like perseverance and consistency. You see, I am an emotional guy and I can get deeply moved by various things. When I watch movies like Braveheart some of those scenes connect with deep places in my heart. But...emotion does not always mean passion. Let me explain. 

You know...one of the phrases that my Mom and Dad always told me growing up was that "marriage is hard work". I so appreciate that nugget of truth. When I got married I knew that we would have to work at our marriage in order to have a healthy relationship. We would need to live with intention in our relationship in order to make it thrive. I was not surprised when the emotion was not there and it was time to roll up our sleeves and work to really Love each other. Emotions come and go. I think that real Passion...is the Passion that will persevere in trial with determined consistency. 

Do you realize that the Latin root of the word Passion is pati which means 'suffer'? We can all sprint for a while....but the reality is that we are in a marathon called life. We can all fall in love but maintaining that passion comes with daily intentional choices. That is true to relationships, work, dreams, creativity, and whole variety of things. 

And this is why I am writing this blog post....during this last year I lost my passion for writing and communicating. I didn't feel I had anything to say. I felt a lot of negative emotions and I did not have the desire to even start typing. But then I remembered that true Passion is not an emotion. It is an intentional consistent persevering action. 

So here you go....this is my Passion. I may not be feeling it right now, but I did it.