Monday, June 1, 2009

Living with Passion

Monday, Monday. Did you know that…

• Medical researchers estimate that up to 90% of illness and disease is stress-related.
• Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death.
• Stress is manageable, and reversible.

Did you get that? Stress is manageable, and reversible.

I’ve discovered that walking in joy instead of stress is dependent on making a place in my life every day for the truly important things. When we’re using our gifts and talents and have a constancy of purpose, the clamor of the small stuff is muffled to a tolerable level. It’s all about finding your “YES!”. Doing that thing which makes your heart sing, even if only for small increments of time, keeps things in perspective.

Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night and as you started thinking about your list of things to do, broken out in a sweat? You’re lying in bed wired and awake but it’s ludicrous to get up at 2 AM to start the day. Then you wake up at 6 tired from working on your problems all night. I think we’ve all been there, done that. But in the light of day, those details which grew to heart-stopping proportions in the middle of the night are in reality much more manageable. It’s all about perspective.

If God removed the rocks, the brook would have no song.

In making time for what we feel passionate about, it's usually necessary to sort the good things from the best. Not always a clear distinction. So that brings me to my question.

What are you passionate about today?

For me, it’s encouraging people through the vehicle of LifePoint. I have a vision and the best is yet to come! That puts fire under my feet.

As a follow-up note, thanks for your input when I asked for Team Brain help. I decided on Life Notes for my newsletter title and my tag line is
Motivation, Inspiration. Mastery.

Oh mercy, now I have people signed up for a newsletter that has yet to be created. But that's fun, since I'm not often at a loss for words.

Coming soon: My second major stress-management technique is to LAUGH! I’ll see what hilarity I can come up with for a post on that. : )

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. ~William James

7 comments:

Zuzana said...

I think your tag line is the best!
I agree with all the sentiments in this post - and am a firm believer in the fact that the best is yet to come.;))

Uncommon Blonde said...

As you know, I am passionate about photography. I just need to find the balance and make sure the photo shoots do not stress me out.

My ADHD Me said...

I don't know.

But I'm no longer having a pity party about it. I'll figure it out!

Rosezilla (Tracie Walker) said...

At the moment I am enjoying scanning in the old slides I stumbled across in a box in the garage. They are from our early days and they are like little lost treasures! So many people in them are gone on now. I really like your tag line, by the way.

Robin Lambright said...

Love the line: If God removed the rocks, the brook wold have no song.

It truly is our struggles that teach and mold who we are, but we all have to learn to let go an let God work with us. A hard learned lesson for many. I can say I have not truly mastered the concept but I am on the road to recognizing the things I can control and the things I can not.

Blessings
Robin

sara said...

I have a passion for my church and my neighborhood. working on starting a neighborhood bible study this summer!

Brenda @ Its A Beautiful Life said...

You mentioned the phrase 'walking in joy' and I know you mean our general walk with the Lord. But it jumped off my screen as my word from Him to walk (exercise) in joy!

So there! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Hey, I chuckled at your comment about having people signed up for a newsletter you haven't created yet. Mmmmm.... maybe that's a good idea for me too.... I'd be committed to get out there.
Sometimes I find it hard to work on articles that don't have anyone else waiting for them. I know 'deadlines' sound negative, but they help me focus on when something needs to be completed.

Keep writing. I'm glad I came by. You've got lots of good stuff, m'dear!