It is so easy to lose our zeal for life. Too get lulled into a sense of complacency. My tendency is to want to isolate and hide from the world. To play it safe, shut my blinds and get lost in a book or just have some chill time.
It will go in spurts. I will be all fired up and ready to take on the world and then something happens and I just lose all of my steam. Does that resonate with you?
I want to live my every day with passion and fire. Actually, I want to live every moment of my life with passion and fire. I often ask myself if that is possible? I don’t know, but I do know not living that way sucks the soul right out of us. That lack of energy, lack of purpose and just trying to survive the day.
FULL BEAT DOWN MODE
I was in full beat down mode earlier this week. I don’t know if was coming down after a weekend adventure in the mountains or it was an extreme case of allergies. All I know is it took every ounce of energy just to get out of bed.
I am normally a get out of bed between 3:45 and 4:30am kind of a guy, but it took every ounce of energy and courage to drag my 1000 pound feeling body out of my warm comfy bed. The brain fog was real.
I know it’s really hard to have any sense of joy when we are feeling that way. Fortunately for me, it was short lived. By Thursday, I was back to feeling energized and alive.
But for some of you, you are stuck in that state of living a passionless life. Believe me I get it. I was there too for many years of my life.
LIVING IN QUIET DESPERATION
I was stuck in a job that was unfulfilling and in a hopeless marriage that emasculated me. I had no idea who I was or what my purpose was in my life. I was living in quiet desperation instead of living with passion and fire.
I finally got the courage to get out of a marriage that I had been fighting so hard to save to no avail. I had lost the battle of keeping my family together, but I knew I couldn’t go on living the way I was living, broken and hopeless. There was at least a glimmer of hope when I got out from underneath being alone and isolated in a broken marriage.
My next step of courage came when I left the comfort of the pharmaceutical industry to start my own fitness ministry. To give up a six-figure job, company car, 401k and all of the perks that when along with this cushy job wasn’t easy, but I knew in my heart and soul that God was calling me to something different. It took me two years to take that leap of faith and start my own business that I had been dreaming about since I was twenty five years old.
I would love to tell you it has been all sunshine and rainbows since moving to Colorado from Florida, but it hasn’t been. But I wouldn’t trade the adventure for anything. There have been financial challenges with starting my own business, a heart break or two along the way along with trying to find a new church and new friends.
LIVE WITH PURPOSE
There have been two things in my life that I want to share with you that has helped me live a life of passion and fire.
The first is that I am living my purpose. Each and every day I know I am living out on a daily basis what God has called me to do. God has called me to be revolutionary in helping people integrate faith and fitness into their lives. He has also called me to be a spiritual warrior and lead other men into their spiritual warriorship. That is an amazing feeling. That helps me live with passion and fire.
The second thing that is helping me live with passion and fire is that I make sure that I am incorporating outdoor adventure and physical challenges into my life. Last year my big challenge was the Triple Bypass bike ride which was 120 miles over three mountain passes and ten thousand feet of elevation gain. This big hairy audacious goal excited me and scared me at the same time.
My out of my comfort zone goal for this year is a series of gravel bike races. I did one already in February and I plan on doing four more throughout the summer. 
I believe we all need to be challenged physically otherwise we get soft and complacent. We need to do things that get us out of our comfort zone physically, so we are challenged mentally and spiritually. With all of my clients I challenge them to come up with a BHAG as coined by Jim Collins. A big hairy audacious goal.
It has to be something you aren’t sure if you can do it. Something where you risk “failure” and you have to train your butt off to complete it.
When I was training for the Triple Bypass I was up every Saturday morning by 5am and out the door by 6am so I could spend six to eight hours on my bike. I wanted to give myself the best chance to complete the Triple Bypass and I am proud to say I felt strong and completed the ride with energy to spare.
So have you lost your passion and fire for life? Are you bored and living a life of complacency? Have you gotten soft mentally?
WHAT’S YOUR BHAG?
If you answered yes to any of those questions it’s time to get your butt off the couch and quit living life vicariously through others. Start living your mission. Start challenging yourself physically, mentally and spiritually. Come up with a BHAG. Start living your life with passion and fire every moment of every day.
My mission is to build a tribe of spiritual warriors who are willing to get out of their comfort zone to fight and serve our families, our communities and churches. We need to rise and up and be spiritual warriors. We need to train ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually each and every day.
Will you join me in living with passion and fire for the betterment of humanity? To learn more about me and my mission please visit my site at troyismir.com
Troy Ismir, MS
Spiritual Warrior
