Passion has become an ever present buzzword these days. We’re told to follow our passion and success will come. We’re told that passion is the essential ingredient needed to achieve any goal, but what is passion exactly and how do we tap into it when we sometimes feel that it may elude us?

I believe that passion comes down to sincerity. Authenticity. Passion is what we had before we were told that our ideas were unrealistic and maybe more importantly, that our desires were unhealthy.

For almost any goal I can recall setting for myself in my life, I can just as quickly recall someone questioning why I needed that thing – the bigger income, the academic or fitness goal I set for myself, the lifestyle I desired. Why did I need that to be happy? So often our own loved ones and the people we respect can paralyze us with their “tough love” and “constructive criticism”. Usually this doesn’t come from any malicious intent on their part, but rather our own desperate need for their approval that is so deeply ingrained and subversive to our own achievement that we can hardly get out of bed in the morning without someone telling us it’s ok.

Why are we so quick to subdue our own identity in the face of such token resistance? Our desire for social acceptance is so high that we can hardly think to make a single move without first gaining the support, or at least permission, of anyone who might possibly judge us. Passion, therefore, is overcoming that need and being true to our own authentic selves in a way that is largely uncompromising.

And THAT is indeed an essential element in getting what you want out of life.