I’ve always been envious of people who are extremely successful and who attribute what they have been able to do to knowing what their one true passion was from an early age.
And I’ve always hated the question, what is your one true passion, because I’m interested in and have a passion for many things – committing to one passion over another has never sat right.
Nor has doing many things with scattered attention though.
One of the goals I have set for myself is to find a balance between the handful of passions I have committed to at different stages over the years.
To integrate them into a more comprehensive approach to living.
I feel timidly optimistic about achieving this because many of my passions are complimentary (I think this would be true for most people, although I can’t be certain).
Here is a list of passions I have spent considerable time on:
- Breathing
- Meditation
- Minimalism
- Fitness, stretching & human movement
- Martial arts (in particular, Wing Chun kung fu)
- Learning languages
- Singing & music
- Financial freedom
- Writing
Let me be clear – I have drifted from all of these, to some degree (including breathing!), at some point.
I’m not pretending to have all the answers to holistic living.
But I sense, as a lot of us can, I think, that with a little bit more mindfulness, we could be living a more fulfilled and productive existence.
Of course, your passions might be completely different to mine.
That’s not the point.
You will connect with what I am saying more if you are an introvert.
At a base level, this means our energy gets drained from being around other people for too long, and our energy gets restored when we are in solitude, or while with one close friend, or a loved one.
If this doesn’t describe you, then I wish you all the best.
However, I spent a lot of time, particularly in high school, not fully accepting this about myself.
As an adult, I’ve been able to accept it more and more, but not to the point of finding a sustainable balance.
See, while I fit the description of an introvert to a T, I am also capable of playing the part of a friendly, outgoing and relatable guy.
The term ‘extroverted’ introvert now gets thrown around.
Even ambivert!
Without getting too attached to labels, I’ve experienced a lot of push’n’pull from enjoying the occasional get together, in certain situations, while also valuing and preferring alone time.
Here’s an example of my conundrum:
If I act naturally in any situation with anyone, it usually means I’m smiling and engaged.
People have consistently taken this to think I want more and more, endless engagement.
I don’t.
So I have trained myself to be more reserved, some would say moody.
Being indifferent to something can actually provide the appropriate detachment needed to succeed.
The opposite of being obsessed.
But just because you are good at something doesn’t mean you necessarily like it.
So, one attribute of an introvert is the need to regularly retreat into solitude to reset back to a state of calm-neutral.
With growing self-awareness, I am setting the intent, here and now, to take action to integrate what I do and say, to actively take time for a big breath at home, and to document my efforts on this blog.
In the words of Robert Ringer:
Nothing happens until something moves.