Today, we continue our Dadly Daily Declaration series with readings from The Passion Paradox by authors Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. Stulberg and Magness aim to demystify passion and show readers how they can find and cultivate their passion, sustainably harness its power, and avoid its dangers.
Here are a few gems from today’s reading:
- Faith is the confidence born out of realizing the fruits of practice, according to a Buddhist saying.
- This is the kind of faith that is required to quit your job, or move across the country, or go back to school to fully pursue your passion. It’s not the kind of faith that is based on a premonition or gut feeling. It’s the kind of faith that is based on an expansive body of evidence, evidence that you’ve provided for yourself; that you’ve put in the work and have the skills; that you’ve cultivated your passion incrementally for long enough and have what is required to take it to the next level.
- Though success in pursuing a passion full-on is never guaranteed, its probability increases when you can respond to the following prompts—key pieces of evidence, if you will—in the affirmative:
- I’ve done the work that is necessary to put myself in a position to thrive.
- I’ve tested my current skills multiple times and know they are sufficient to at least stay afloat (financially, physically, emotionally) when I jump in.
- I have the desire and work ethic to continue developing my skills.
- I’ve reflected on the sacrifices I’ll need to further pursue my passion, and I’m OK making them.
- I have a plan of action, including mentors, the support of family and friends, and specific progression markers or milestones to shoot for. I’m also willing to adapt my plan if need be.
- I may feel a little jittery, but the thought of going all in on my passion does not make me anxious. It makes me excited.
- I want to do this, and I’m committed to everything this encompasses.
Those gems lead us to today’s Dadly Daily Declaration:
At a certain point, you’ll reach a position to decide whether it’s time to go all in on your passion, to make some big changes so you can devote more of your life to it. This requires making a leap of faith.
