In general, we misunderstand passion. This idea was highlighted in Angela Duckworth's best-selling book "Grit". The way culture glamorizes passion is through hot steamy romance and big defiant action steps. It focuses on the intensity of the experience, and it represents the topic unfairly. 

True passion is more consistent. It is delivered slowly and surely over time. Don’t mistake enthusiasm for passion. Enthusiasm is great but it’s often not sustainable, it’s a high intensity emotion. Passion doesn’t come in bursts, it isn’t as sexy as it is made out to be, but it in this way it is more enduring and more effective.

So let’s get critical and think about what you’re really passionate about? Maybe you suffer from shiny object syndrome, where you see something new like a new project, relationship, or hobby, and get so excited about it, only to leave it behind in a few days or weeks. That’s not passion. What you have showed up to do, what you have prioritized and will continue to prioritize, that’s what you are actually passionate about. Things like being there for family events, working on projects for months or years, or interests that you’ve been able to dive really deep into throughout your life.

I bring this all up because tapping into your passion can be one of the strongest factors in discovering your purpose. And when you’ve identified what that thing is, you can create opportunities to bring more of that passion into your life.

I don’t care who you are, it’s never okay to intentionally be mean to someone. When it comes to living alongside others, compassion and empathy is everything. And if someone feels like another person isn’t deserving of that respect, I think it’s more a representation of what they think of themselves rather than what they think of that person.

We all certainly are going to encounter bad people. It’s unavoidable. People who feel like they are too important and perceive themselves as superior, but no one has the right to treat anyone else differently.

I’m not perfect, I have plenty of judgments and hold grudges and assign blame just like anyone else, but I try to see the importance in everyone else. We all have a sense of self and in that way, we are all the center of our own universe. So while you might be the most important person in the world in your mind, someone else is the most important person in their mind. 

And that’s the underlying opportunity. In exercising compassion, and being understanding, you can learn to treat others the way you want to be treated, and allow them to feel meaningful and significant beyond their personal experience.

We’ve all been there... We’ve made a to do list and didn’t know what to do first. We’ve been inspired to create a business, invest in hobbies, and prioritize our values, but we don’t start. What I’ve found to be true in life is that the most difficult step is the first step, and that the hardest part to finishing anything is starting.

I believe this is because we are hardwired to reject change. Evolutionarily change in our environment signaled uncertainty and was often viewed as a threat, and our brains actively resist change because it is subconsciously perceived as dangerous. This is called "activation energy", the focus and an attention required to get started, and I’ve learned a few things that can help in overcoming it. 

First is to have a starting ritual. If you consistently use an affirmation to trigger your behavior it will eventually become automatic. My favorite starting ritual is the 5 Second Rule shared by Mel Robbins. If you want to get yourself to do something, simply countdown from 5 and take off like a rocket at 0.

A second way is to commit to only a fraction of the activity. In "Atomic Habits" James Clear talks about the two minute rule, where you distill the desired activity into a two minute activity, making the task seem much more doable.

And last, if it’s a bigger project or idea and you don’t know where to get started, just take a productive action in any form. Your small action is a commitment that is representative of your larger intentions, and will help you take the next steps. This is something Adam Braun did when building the non-profit Pencils of Promise, putting a $25 deposit down in the hopes he’d raise $10,000+ to build a new school. 

The hardest part to finishing anything is getting started, and if you’re inspired to get started on the next chapter of your life and move forward, I'd like to help you out!

Your environment is simply everything around you, the context of your life. What you might not realize is the way your environment may be influencing you in ways you aren’t aware of. If you think of it this way, your environment is rich with different stimuli that trigger you into unconscious behavior patterns. Some of those behaviors are good, many are bad, but in either case it is simply the things around you, your environment, that quietly leads you down that path.

Oftentimes your environment presents itself as circumstance, which is thought to be fixed or determined. But in understanding that your environment and context is dynamic and ever-changing, you realize you can actually manipulate your circumstances to change your life. So let’s start gaining an awareness about our environment by auditing the different environments we live within.

First is your physical environment. The actual space you’re in and where it is geographically. Is it conducive to helping you sleep well, eat healthy, be productive, etc? Then there’s your social environment. Your relationships, who you value in your life, who influences your expectations and standards, and how they support you. And then there’s your energetic environment. Your motivation, alignment, and integrity. How you pursue your values, and your spirituality.

Within the lens of these three environments determine what the ideal is, how you want these environments to contribute to your life, and when you identify a mismatch begin pursuing certain steps to tweak your environment to bridge the gap.

Today I want to ask you a fundamental question, and it’s something I’ve been spending some time asking myself. When it comes to personal development, your self growth, and the person you need to be to make your dreams come true, what are you working on?

Is there a certain skill you need to learn or improve in? A limiting belief that you’re working through? A routine or habit  you want to instill? A priority that you no longer want to neglect? 

That’s why it’s called personal development, because it requires growth or advancement in certain ways that will create more happiness, fulfillment, joy, and impact in your life. Don’t get me wrong, consuming the content put out by Self Improvement Daily is a great first step because it exposes you to what’s out there and it allows you to reflect and gain self awareness. But in order to really pursue your personal development you need to translate that learning into something actionable. Like a seed that grows toward the sunlight you need to have your destination that you are growing toward.

So I’ll ask you again - What are you working on? And how does that align with who you want to be? To make that actionable a follow up question, "What can you do today to begin making progress?" It doesn’t need to be massive action, but it does need to be something.

This is an important topic I haven't touched on yet - Taking risks and exploring what "risk" means. Kara Goldin, the CEO and Founder of Hint, a world-leading beverage company has taken many risks in her life and wants to help people understand the nature and implications of risk, rather than just shying away from them.

Her message encourages us to take an independent approach toward risk. What is the upside of the decision, and what does that mean for you? Don’t let other people who feel uncomfortable taking a certain risk influence you and keep you from doing what you want to do. Think for yourself!

There’s a lot to unpack here with self-love and self-acceptance. I personally have struggled with this topic. Growing up as a kid I was in a very validating environment. For many years I misunderstood who or what I should be working for. Basically, I became dependent on the praise and approval of others in order to measure my own self-worth. It’s hard to see when you’re in it, and that’s why I think this quote is so good because it helps provide some awareness to it.

"Prove yourself to yourself, not others."

Even in the expression “I’m trying to prove myself”... Who are you trying to prove yourself to? If you don’t think highly about yourself then you’ll rely on others to make up the difference. But the problem is it becomes an endless chase of more and more to constantly fill the need of feeling like you’re worthy.

So when you’re caught up in this cycle, of valuing others’ opinions over your own, what do you do? You challenge yourself. You step straight into the fear. The fear that you aren’t enough, that you aren’t worthy, and you show yourself that you are capable. It could be as small as just showing up for yourself at an event, or as big as radically changing something about your life. In order to prove yourself to yourself you need to do something for yourself.

Believe it or not, we all share something about life. For every one of us, things haven’t gone perfectly. Our paths have had a few bumps and turns and re-routes along the way. So what separates those who persevere and those who give up? It’s how they respond to that adversity, and doing what they can in the face of challenges to get back on track.

The first step is to separate from your emotions. Your emotions are really effective at communicating to you how you should feel given certain things, but those emotions also have certain associated responses. In the case of challenge, our emotions tell us to "stop" so that we can preserve ourselves. If you want to get back on track you need to first overcome your emotions. 

Then, once you’ve done that you need to take a small action. You are in control of your life and you choose the direction. Take action to set your destination and commit to that positive change. At that point it becomes about consistency. Continuing to show up for yourself and what you want, picking up momentum and making that path a little easier to travel. Once you’ve re-established your baseline, you’re back on track and you can grow from that. 

Every single person has strengths and weaknesses. We all hold a unique perspective that comes from our own life’s context. We are very different and very similar all at the same time, which is a gift and a curse. In my mind this means two things - We all have something to offer others, and we all need something from others.

Let’s talk about the latter, and getting the support we need. The main reason we don’t get the help we need is because we don’t ask for it. It is uncomfortable to be vulnerable, to share about things that could hurt us, but there’s a wealth of opportunity if we can overcome it. I believe this fear of vulnerability is deeply wired within us as animals that existed in a hierarchy of dominance. But even dogs concede and expose their bellies sometimes, and as humans we can do the same by voicing our insecurities to others.

By sharing openly about your fears, insecurities, and areas you need help in, other people can come in to support you. You cultivate an awareness about a need that you have. What is your weakness is someone else’s strength, what you have little of someone else has a lot of, and resources or knowledge can be allocated appropriately depending on where it needs to go. 

This means that support becomes more accessible to those who express that they need it, and voicing your insecurities is your first step in beginning to overcome the challenge you are fearful of facing.