By: Christina Eagle, L.M.H.C.
Perhaps one day your passion that once brought you joy begins to turn into a burning sensation of needing to be the best/do the best. Out of pressure to meet your expectations, other people’s expectations, or even the world’s (often with social media’s help) you may begin to struggle to create or conjure inspiration.
If only we can get back to enjoying our interest in the most basic way. What happens if we give up the pressured belief of: “I should be doing… , I should have a certain following, or I should be at a different point in my life/career right now.” We often lose ourselves in the “SHOULD” when goals become a demand based on expectations.
Regardless of the expectations of others or yourself, try to get back to enjoying your passion. Try to remember what it felt like when you first fell in love. Remember the excitement and intensity that came naturally. Imagine if there were little to no demands and you did what you enjoyed simply because it made you feel good in some way. The act of removing the demand or expectation may help elicit creative flow and often increases the level of motivation. This notion will promote hope that you will learn to love it again once you’ve removed the demand of performing! Set goals for yourself! But, also believe that although you’d like to, there’s no reason you absolutely MUST/SHOULD be/do what everyone else expects (including yourself).
Can you learn to remove the expectations in order to fall in love with your passion again? It can start by removing the pressure.
