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Bring Passion into the Mundane

Lauren Grace Living

Archive

Bring Passion into the Mundane

There are always going to be things in life that we just don’t want to do but we have to. Maybe it’s work obligations, cleaning your house, doing your taxes, etc.. For me right now it is studying for my final board exam. After already having taken 2 previous boards in the past 2 months I am completely burnt out from studying. The entire process is time consuming and stressful. The only saving grace is that this will be the last exam I have to take, and passing it will be a huge weight off my shoulders.

But when it comes to actually studying for this test I’ve been resistant, to put it mildly. I can think of a hundred other things that I would rather do then study for this board. I have tons of other school work that needs to get done as well, that I am more then happy to spend time on. I’ve deep cleaned my apartment, organized my closet, cooked, worked out, ran errands, anything but study.

Why am I so resistant to studying for this test? Because it’s BORING! That’s why! The majority of this test requires me to memorize a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo that I know I will forget 5 min after the exams over. It feels like a waste of my time, and I just don’t want to do it. But I know that in order to get this over with I just have to buckle down and focus.

So I realized this past week that in order for me to be focused as I study I needed to find a way to make it more engaging and exciting. I began to contemplate some ideas, and one thought that came to mind was what if I pretended to be really passionate about the material on this exam? What if I pretended to be really jazzed about this subject? There are so many other things that I study that I am so very passionate about. So what if I brought some of that passion into this subject?

To start this experiment I first had to create the right environment. For a subject that I am really passionate about I would use my nice paper and fancy pens. I would make neat little note cards and outlines. My desk would be clutter free and organized. And I would also start working on it first thing in the morning instead of putting it off until later in the day. As I began actually studying I just pretended to be really interested in what I was learning. And you know what? It worked! Before I knew it an hour had flown by and I had actually experienced an enjoyable and productive study period. Since then I’ve had such an easier time sitting down and focusing for this board.

I realized I was on to something here. A little passion (or even fake passion) can go along way! It’s just a subtle shift in energy but it makes a big difference. Bringing passion into mundane tasks can change your entire experience.

I know that I already do this in so many areas of my life. For instance I love to clean my place. I make it a fun experience. I usually blast music or listen to something inspirational as I go about my weekly scrub down. A lot of times I will even make it a bit of game and time myself to see how fast I can get it all done. I remember hating vacuuming as a kid, and now it’s one of my favorite things to do. Because somewhere along the line I switched my mindset from seeing cleaning as a chore to seeing it as an activity.

You have probably already done this with different “tasks” in your life already without even realizing it. For instance so many people have resistance to working out and have to drag themselves to the gym, yet after a few months they love it and hate to miss a day. What changed? They changed their beliefs from seeing exercise as painful to seeing it as fun and playful. When your beliefs change your attitude will change. In order for me to get passionate about studying I had to change my beliefs about this subject. Instead of seeing it as boring, I had to try and see it as interesting. And instead of studying, I’m learning. All it takes is a subtle shift in your energy to change your mindset.

So are there some areas in your life where you could use some passion and excitement? Are there obligations that you just dread and put off? Try bringing in a little passion to everything you do. For example when you are making the bed you could take the time to fold the sheets nicely and fluff the pillows. When you are cooking pretend you are a chef in some fancy restaurant creating the tastiest meal ever. For all my friends up north that are shoveling snow right now, turn it into a work out by getting your heart rate up and seeing how fast you can clear the driveway. If these are all tasks that you have to do anyway you might as well bring in a little passion and make it enjoyable. And who knows you may find that once you change your attitude you might actually look forward to that task which you dreaded before.