Passion: A powerful emotion such as love, joy, hatred or anger. The object of such love and desire, great enthusiasm or anger.
Whenever you get stuck in your life, career, or workplace always remember that passion is a primary source of energy. Whatever you are passionate about can re-energize you. What you feel excited about can jumpstart your engine. Passion is fuel you can tap into immediately and at anytime. It will help lift your spirits and move you forward with confidence.
I have a passion for vanilla bean lattes. Every first sip I take of this delicious coffee sends my taste buds soaring and activates my positive emotional energy. From there I apply that positive feeling into mental energy. So when I am feeling low, depressed or a little lost I always treat myself with a passion of mine, like a favourite beverage.
Movies are one of my biggest passions for many reasons. The excitement I feel for films is always there. I think about movies every day. The first section of a newspaper I go is the entertainment section, which is the same when I go to the magazine section of a book store. Every day I check my favourite bookmarked websites that feature news on upcoming movies and their release dates. And I love writing and discussing movies with others!
How do you find your passion?
A passion can be any personal interest or hobby you love or love doing. It is an activity that you are compelled to do without having been told to do it. A passion can be something you loved as a child that still makes you feel good like a favourite song, toy, character, game, story, TV show or movie.
A passion can also be the thing you've been doing your whole life that you don't think is a big deal. It's something you don’t even notice because it's second nature to you. This is where it takes time and dedicated effort to look back over the years and see whatever is second nature to you from a whole new perspective.
The key is to identify what you are passionate about and build awareness of the positive emotional energy you feel when indulging in that passion. This is your hidden fuel. And if you are stuck remembering what your passions are always know that the power of movies can help. Films can trigger your memories with its visual stimuli and your favourite cinematic role models.
Here is a list of 15 movies to help you identify and unleash your passions:
Amelie
This French film explores and celebrates a multitude of passions people have for the little things in life as seen through the vivid imagination of a young woman.
Big
This magical movie explores how a passion for playing with toys can become a viable skill for employment in a toy related corporation.
Chocolat
Having a passion for chocolate is about a powerful energy that can excite your soul as well as your taste buds. This movie also shows how sharing passions can connect you deeply with people.
Elf
This Christmas classic explores the importance of keeping childhood passions alive in a grown-up world. It will remind you of the positive energy that can fill you through the little things in life you loved growing up with.
Enchanted
This fantasy movie is all about having a joyful passion for life. The eternal optimism of the heroine is so pure that she transforms even the cynics she encounters in New York City.
Happy Feet
This animated movie explores the importance of keeping a passion alive even though people around you do not support your talent, strengths or gifts.
Kung Fu Panda
This animated feature shows how a passion for food can become a positive incentive to help you become a better, more confident person.
Jerry Maguire
This movie explores how a sports representative's original passion for sports compels him to turnover his career to live a more authentic life with meaningful relationships.
Pleasantville
This movie is a magical story about freeing one's hidden passions, desires and personal interests. It shows how much more colourful life can be when you indulge and share what is most meaningful to you.
The Pursuit of Happyness
A homeless, single parent survives on the streets because of his passion for his toddler son and his passion for a new meaningful career.
Rocky
This movie explores the importance of following a dream and competing with passion. The main character fought with his heart keeping him deeply energized.
The Sound of Music
This musical classic is brimming with passion. The song, "My Favourite Things" represents the power of passion and how thinking of your favourite things can lift you up when you’re feeling sad.
School of Rock
A struggling musician with an overwhelming passion for rock and roll discovers a joyful new career teaching and sharing his passion with young school kids.
Stand By Me
During one summer adventure, 4 friends celebrate the innocence and passions of childhood during the 1950's.
Stranger Than Fiction
A businessman is unexpectedly forced to redefine the value of his life by exploring his passions and personal interests. The story also features a young woman who created a successful business with her passion for baking. This movie ultimately celebrates the little things in life we are passionate about and how they can save our lives a little bit every day.
Be Aware
Let these movies re-ignite your passions and personal interests. Identify other favourite movies that are mirroring the enjoyable activities or careers you’d love to do or have. What you are doing is being more conscious of what makes you feel good and energized.
Remember to train your mind to become aware of how good you feel when you are doing something you love. Be conscious of how alive you feel when remembering your childhood passions or favourite hobbies you spend time on today.
Feel the positive emotional energy that flows through you when you think of favourite things in your daily life, job or workplace. This energy will increase your confidence, your focus and your optimism.
Go ahead and tap into this powerful resource called passion right now. Start by treating yourself to something you love like your favorite coffee, beverage or movie!
And please let me know what your favourite movies about passion are. I'd love to hear from you.
More on positive emotional energy see:
Tip#248: 7 Positive Emotions That Energize – Stranger Than Fiction
Emmanuel Lopez
Motivational Specialist
www.motivatorman.com
© Emmanuel Lopez 2008
Johnny Depp is my passion. Voted “sexiest man alive” yeah baby.
ReplyDeleteDeborah
1 movie that helps me tap into passion was a documentary based on a period in the life of Muhammed Ali
ReplyDeletecalled "When We Were Kings". I recommend it highly.
Harris B.
Very useful - thankyou.
ReplyDeleteDo you use the whole movie? I taught in Uni that had good copyright coverage and I learned from colleagues to us clips or scenes rather than whole films. I am interested in your experience.
Poetry is also wonderful, especially David Whyte.
These are great choices. I also like some of the somewhat older films, like The English Patient or Dead Poet's Society. I recently discovered a web site where I can trade some of my old DVD movies to get ones I've never seen before. I'd highly recommend checking it out at bookins.com.
ReplyDeleteI recently saw "Lars and the Real Girl." Definitely motivational in encouraging me to appreciate and accept people for who they are!
ReplyDeleteOne of the top motivating movies for me is Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. It is such an inspiring story and always makes me realize that I can do so much more. It is about hope and determination. I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteoptimistic and shinny, most of your movie choices. I also have one which is not on your list, more on the religious side, but motivational nonetheless: "Adam's Apples" (Norway).
ReplyDelete:) nice post
You might also like to look at city slickers (Billy Crystal) and in particular the scene on careers when talking to his son's class
ReplyDeleteAlso Master and Commander the far side of world (Russell Crowe) leadership styles
Also Apollo 13 Leadership style in a crisis.
We use all three in career management and leadership programmes.
nice motivational list, though fairly lightweight stuff, almost too predictable, sappy. Very good movies though.
ReplyDeleteI like to see our staff laughing at less conventional movies like Blazing Saddles, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, Shaun of the Dead, Hairspray, So I Married an Axe Murderer and Simpsons episodes.
Good list, but it's missing Rudy... If that movie doesn't elicit some emotion you need to check your pulse and be sure you're still alive!! It's a great, positive, uplifting "can do" film!
ReplyDeleteI just watched Rivers & Tides, a documentary about Andy Goldsworthy, that's a brilliant depiction of the passion he feels for the natural surroundings of his home in Scotland. He's so driven to explore the human connection with nature, and how analogous the patterns of change in nature are to forces of change in our own lives. His passion inspires.
ReplyDeleteHello all, thank you for your recommendations. Some I have yet to see. This list was based on whatever I had seen at the time of posting. I may update to add more movies I have seen since on passion.
ReplyDeleteEmmanuel
Motivatorman