How to Create Passion, Motivation, Life Change With 1 Simple Strategy
I have this thing with retrograde perspective; I enjoy it. Yes, I know how much more important the present moment is and I know how much more progressive it is to set goals for the future. But there is still something in my nature that has me looking back to my past, trying to understand, trying to make sense of who I am and why I think, feel, and do the things I do. I often think we look at our parents and childhood as our main directives in life (which they are) as well as our experiences we have had (which obviously shape us)... but for me, the books I read in my formative (and recent) years also had a very large thrust in creating who I am presently. I'm thinking about all of this as I'm looking to influence anyone who is stuck, who is uninspired, who is attached to a certain life but wants to become different, shift, pivot.... Could be as simple as reading a book.
If you know me even a little bit, you know that I don't like "stuff". Stuff makes me feel anxious, makes me crabby, makes my mind think too much. So I tend to not have a lot of clutter or knick-knacks. I have 4 coffee cups and 4 plates. I make due without a pair of kitchen tongs. I like my counter tops bare. I try to not have an excess of anything. (Except for bikes.. I just remembered I like bikes. In full disclosure, I have too many bikes.) And, although I love to read and love books, I refuse to keep them after I'm finished (too much stuff). Except for the stack of books I have in the picture. And this is my point.....
I can't let go of these books. Many have traveled with me for over 30 years from the Carlos Castaneda book my dad gave me in my teenage years to the The Prophet that my mom turned me on to at about the same age. Edward Abby took me to the desert when I was 19 where I learned that I could feel God in vast landscapes. Jung and Campbell created a passion in me to make meaning and understanding from what lies beyond our consciousness. Thich Nhat Hanh and Tolle helped me find peace in suffering. Each of these books has somehow impassioned me so strongly and shaped me in such a profound way that I can't let them go. They have some real power to create a force that can bend and shape and revise a life....
I guess my hope in sharing this brief, free association of my thoughts is that if you are feeling stuck, stymied, blocked and you have a need to find some passion in life, shake things up, make change to yourself and your life in someway but just can't find the motivation....try a book. Try one of these. Try a different one. Sometimes a simple read can be a powerful life-changer.