ENTHUSIASM...Ignite the Greatness in YOU.

In the journey of life, there are days when everything seems perfect. A day when you are able to get everything done perfectly, everything seems great and you feel on top of the world. In such days, you are on a high spirit and enthusiastic about life and you feel like anything is possible. What a wonderful feeling it always is! But then another day comes when it seems nothing around you is working and you feel like nothing is worth being enthusiastic and excited about. You just feel like life should just end immediately. This piece seeks to provide an insight on how best to deal with such days and get the best out of such situations.

Enthusiasm can be described as a great feeling of excitement for or an interest in a subject or cause. It involves zeal, eagerness, passion and devotion. The late Ralph Waldo Emerson said of enthusiasm as “….one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”. With enthusiasm, you can journey through mountains. It is an incredibly powerful tool to create momentum. It can be used to combat fear and nervousness and it can also help create energy and willpower. Being enthusiastic also creates an overall feeling of happiness and well-being.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where being enthusiastic is neither encouraged nor valued. The media is constantly turning into a messenger of tragedy, pessimism and fear. The people around us seem to be more on the end of cynicism and sarcasm than enthusiasm and this behavior is gradually becoming a part of us. With a generally apathetic and pessimistic society, we naturally adapt to these kind of attitude, oftentimes without realizing it. In your day to day life, so many events come to put down your enthusiasm, you must never give it up. Understand that what does matter is how you see the world. You must always focus on the positive side of every situation/event. Believe it or not, if you chose to see things as boring, uninspiring and lifeless then your brain will find all the evidences you need to support your believe. On the other side, if you chose to see things as exciting, inspiring and interesting, you brain will also find evidence to support it. This explains why one person will see losing a job as an opportunity and a blessing in disguise while another person will see losing the same job as the end of the world. It largely depends on how you chose to view things. Don't just sit there and behave as though the problem of the whole world is on you. Become excited about life, about the future and ignite the passion in you. You must develop a positive psychology. Focus your mind on the things in your life that bring energy rather than the things that tend to drain it. Sometimes it is good to write down all the good things in your life that you feel you have to be grateful for; your qualities/skills, achievements, the beautiful people in your life, your opportunities etc. Write them down and read them out aloud with a thankful heart. It helps you to stay positive, energized and more enthusiastic about your world/future. There will always be reasons to make you happy. Don’t be angry about the past nor be anxious about the future to the extent that it deprives you of the excitement of the moment and the energy to take grasp your future.

However, enthusiasm is like any other skill. It rarely comes naturally; it is usually the result of conscious efforts of learning and practicing. Genuine enthusiasm can only be sustained about something you are truly passionate about.

Don’t spend your time pursuing things that you aren’t passionate about. If you aren’t passionate about something, try to minimize or remove the time it is taking from your life. If you look at really successful people, majority of them are individuals that have excelled in something they are very passionate about. Passion provides the fuel and without it, there can be no fire of enthusiasm. You must make deliberate decision/effort to be enthusiastic about life. Remember, by being enthusiastic you are not only reaping the benefits therein, you are also inspiring others. I leave U with the word of H. W. Arnold; "Let a man lose everything else in the world but his enthusiasm and he will come through again to success." Have a great weekend. Don’t forget to share this blog with friends and as well submit your mails to receive every post in your mail.