Make Passion Work
Posted on October 07, 2020 by Rhonda Daley, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Are you truly passionate about your dreams? Do challenging situations tend to thwart your efforts to succeed?
Passion is rocket fuel. It’s the surge of energy that makes ideas real and goals possible. People who tap their true passion feel vividly alive; they’ve found a vein of potential that powers action and positive change.
But passion is neutral energy—it can amplify what we love or what we resist. We see it every day in heated debates and polarized opinions. For this piece, we’ll focus on the constructive side of passion: the kind that builds, heals, and moves you forward.
Why Passion Isn’t Enough
You’ve seen it: someone sprints into a new idea at full speed… then stalls. Did their passion “run out”? Usually not. More often, they hit an obstacle and never got back on the horse. Passion didn’t fail—you stopped riding.
Two common reasons:
It wasn’t true passion. When challenges show up early, surface-level excitement fades fast.
No belief system. True passion is tethered to conviction: I can do this, and I’ll keep going until I do.
True vs. Passive Passion
Both can look identical at the start—high energy, big talk, fast launch. The difference appears when things get hard.
Passive passion comes from outside: trends, pressure, approval. It lasts only as long as the path remains smooth.
True passion is internal. It outlasts setbacks, delays, and detours. Months, years, even a lifetime, it keeps calling you back.
Think of it as an equation:
True Passion = Inner Source × Belief × Resilience × Daily Behaviors
If any factor is zero, momentum collapses.
A Quick Self-Check
Ask yourself:
Did this goal come from me, or from the noise around me?
What barriers can I already name?
Am I willing to keep going after the first, third, and tenth setbacks?
If your answer to that last question is yes, you’re already operating from true passion.
Turn Passion Into Progress
Obstacles aren’t detours; they’re the road. Treat them like training reps.
Try this three-step “Barrier Map”:
Name it. List every barrier between you and your goal, big and small. Be specific. (Barriers can have sub-barriers; capture them all.)
Answer it. Write at least one possible solution for each barrier, even if it’s rough. You can refine as you go.
Pressure-test it. Share your list with a coach or trusted friends. Borrow better ideas. Clarify weak spots.
As you move, patterns emerge. You’ll start recognizing barriers early and applying solutions before they become crises. That’s how passion sustains: not by perpetual hype, but by repeatable problem-solving.
The Bottom Line
If you view barriers as part of the process, very little can stop you. True passion isn’t loud; it’s loyal. It shows up tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that—until the work is done.
Keep the fire. Build the system. Get back on the horse.
This article is an excerpt from her forthcoming book, “Happiness Rules” by Rhonda Daley, Nspireology Coach. Copyright 2025
