How do people do it?
In the past few months, I've been more and more curious as to how people sustain consistent effort and dedication over time to make their projects thrive. How can they possibly maintain a steady and unwavering commitment to their goals?
As a close friend has told me once, I'm a launcher. I like starting things out, I like learning new skills, trying things for the first time, and helping others better understand their tasks and expected outcomes. Maybe that's an Aries thing?
I like being able to do it all and have my knowledge be more general. It also doesn't help the fact that I've worked for 2 start-up tech companies during their own launch processes.
When that initial scenario is finished, it all just eventually gets to a stage where everything is set and ready, people become more specialized, and the routines start to get more repetitive. That's usually when I start losing my tracks.
That has always been sort of a cycle for me, but if I want to make anything of my own, I know I'll have to deal with that eventually. How to do it while keeping your consistency and efforts as close to what they were like in the beginning? How to keep up with dedication?
That's when the twins show up: passion and interest. And today, I'm here to dissect the way it works for me and why they are so important when building the life of your dreams.
Let's start with what dedication is.
For me, it's this powerful psychological trait that leads people to commit fully to something, whether it's a work goal, a personal project, a relationship, building a business, etc... And as any driving force, it requires fuel. Passion and interest are some of them, but we can deepen it a bit more. It's also intrinsic motivation, adaptability, long-term vision, a great positive mindset, a supportive environment, and even faith.
But how does it all work together? Now that's the million-dollar question. In short, it depends, honestly.
Life circumstances can make many factors work differently, but seeing this as a general guide for consistency and dedication let's give it a fair try.
So, what are you passionate about?
For me, in order for something to have my full attention and dedication, I gotta have a clear goal I wanna get to. It doesn't have to be a very big one, it can even be what I expect to happen with the blog in the next six months, for example. But I must have it clear in my mind in order for me to break down the steps to get there and be excited to work toward it.
Besides a clear vision, I seek an emotional connection with every project I take on. That significantly heightens my sense of accomplishment when I'm done with it and it gives me that extra push for when I don't want to think about anything. You know, the low-energy phases.
That all encompasses passion and leads me to be more motivated, persistent, dedicated, and even more disciplined.
And I can't imagine myself taking on things I don't feel that way about anymore. That's one of the biggest lessons my burnout has taught me. The blog and my work are two of my biggest current projects and I'm in love with both. I hope you can find that too.
Hey, maybe think about that in your next job interview or when taking the next step in your career.
How about you? How do you view passion and interest?
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