What is it that Sets your Soul on Fire?
What is your burning passion? Let's uncover that.
“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.”~ Jennifer Lee
As you look at your life, what is the thing that captivates your heart and mind fully?
That tiniest ember of a passionate thought with the gravitational pull of all the planets in all the galaxies on your attention? A spark SO strong that you’re willing to risk even failure or embarrassment because the experience or reward is so much greater? I hope you either have goose bumps or chills up your spine thinking about this thought.
Another way to understand this what is that deep seeded craving to reconnect with something that stirs your soul so intensely.
Now, if I stop you in your tracks while you are in the middle of your day and ask you,
“What is it that sets your soul on fire? What is your burning passion that you can’t stop thinking of?”
Would you be able to answer right away or would you need time to think?
As a thinking, breathing, passionate human being, I too have asked myself this question a number of times. I know without a doubt that the answer to this question holds immense power!
Souls are eternal.
Fire, it destroys, or creates…depending on how you look at it.
Combine them and we’re in the realm of epic creations!
I believe we need to look within more, to what’s planted deep in our hearts and minds, rather than the incessant poison of the world. Social media, advertisements, podcasts, sports, etc. (name your particular poison) all competing for our attention, distract us, and deplete our energy. With so much noise outside, we don’t hear the small embers inside our heart. We are all so caugh up in what the world thinks we should do, that those little sparks of light inside don’t even get a chance to see the light of day.
When did you last FEEL your soul was on fire?
For one of my clients, it is doing volunteering work at a homeless shelter. At the age of 64.
For another, its teaching arts and crafts to kids and seniors at a community centre. At the age of 36.
Yet another client, discovered her souls embers sparking when she started growing her own vegetables and then selling them at a farmers market. At the age of 44.
One dear friend of mine, discovered her fire through landscaping her neighbours yards. Now she has a thriving landscaping, flower growing business at 48. She started just 2 years back.
So, stop running around, breathe and go back to that place within. Dig out what that glimmer of fire felt like for you, ever in the past, and then hold onto THAT feeling.
What did it feel like for you? What was happening inside? What were the circumstances of that moment? Where in your body did you feel these sensations that let you know your soul was on fire?
Is it an adrenaline rush or is it deep serenity and calm, these moments are REALLY IMPORTANT to understand! They reveal places, experiences and circumstances that allow you to feel more like YOU!
They provide the clues about next right steps in your life and business. Its where the fire is leading you.
How can you recreate these soul-on-fire experiences? How can I recognize these embers?
Even if it’s just little sparks…in doing these things our creativity gets a rush, our spirits light up and we tap into this alternate reality where we are making greater impact in our world.
Not exploring this path, we may as well become robots and succumb to the AI revolution
We need to be able to go within inspite of the noisy world. Instead of creating more distractions against this external noise aka overcommitting, I want to encourage you to lean into the calm of your internal truest self.
Regardless of the pace, what might awaken inside if you set aside time in your year for more experiments and experiences that set your soul on fire, you are on the right track.
Keeping the Spark Alive NO MATTER WHAT!
And now some real world examples of famous people as you will notice in the list below, who all started following their fire, and reached great heights. But they never lost that inner spark(no matter how hard life was), which eventually guided them to a life of passion:
At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.
At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.
At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.
At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a single parent living on welfare who was clinically depressed and at times has contemplated suicide.
At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.
At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.
At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs.
Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39, and got her own cooking show at age 51.
Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40.
Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40.
Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career to pursue acting at age 42.
Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first major movie role until he was 40.
Morgan Freeman landed his first MAJOR movie role at age 52.
Louise Bourgeois didn’t become a famous artist until she was 78.
Whatever your inner fire is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t found fame and fortune by the age of 21.
Also, it’s okay if you don’t even know what your one true passion is yet.
Even if you’re working odd jobs, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you’ll end up tomorrow, but only if you can keep those embers within you alive to guide you through it all.
Never tell yourself you’re too old to make it. Never tell yourself you missed your chance. Never tell yourself that you aren’t good enough.
You can do whatever it is that sets your soul on fire.
💭❓Share your thoughts: What thoughts did this article bring up for you and your passion, especially as you reflect on the year gone by?
❤️With Love, Zeenat Merchant Syal, M.A, M.Sc
🌻For more positive healing inspiration subscribe to my Medium articles. Book an Online Counseling&Spiritual Guidance session with me here.
