Business Buddhism

The notion of non-attachment in Buddhist psychology might suggest to you that Buddha proposed to live without passion and thus avoid disappointment. That to live without passion is the price to pay to buy a degree of content. “No passion, no cry,” as Bob Marley might sing.

That’s a misunderstanding.

When we describe someone as passionate, we are noting the love, devotion, concentration and energy with which they DO something. Passion does not necessitate that they are good at it, nor that they are accomplishing something remarkable.

If you are passionate about playing the violin, you don’t care about the size of your audience, or the money it makes you. (You might still care for those things – to put dinner on your plate – but the rewards are not what drives your passion.)

Acting out of passion, you are not attached to the outcome or the appearance, but the act of your expression is itself your goal and reward.

Lifting your gaze from what you are trying to accomplish, and instead remembering what you love doing, is a good recipe to reawaken your passion.