Today I Choose to be Passionate – How to be Passionate

After ten years at the same company—a company that’s always struggling, never thriving—my passion didn’t just fade. It flatlined.

I showed up. I performed. I led teams. I made decisions that moved the business forward. But there was no spark left. The work had become transactional. Predictable. Tired. And honestly… so had I.

I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t burned out in the dramatic, collapse-on-the-couch sense. I was just numb. Going through the motions. My work-life passion wasn’t flagging—it was gone.

But here’s the rub: I’m 61. I have a great-paying job. And I’m not in a position—financially or logistically—to just up and walk away. I’ve got responsibilities. People who count on me. And golden handcuffs that, while shiny, are still handcuffs.

So I did the only thing I could do: I started something that felt like me again.

That something was Enlightenzz. Not because I needed another project—I had plenty of those. But because I needed something that woke me up again. Something that stirred my creativity. Let me tell stories. Explore ideas. Connect with other women navigating the same invisible midlife fog.

Enlightenzz became the place where I could feel again. Where I could write with joy. Design with energy. Share with vulnerability. It brought me back to life in a way I didn’t know I was missing.

The Anatomy of Lost Passion

Passion doesn’t always leave in a dramatic exit. Sometimes it seeps out slowly, like air from a tire with a tiny puncture. You don’t notice until one day you’re driving on the rim, metal scraping asphalt, wondering how you got here.

For me, the signs were subtle: Sunday night dread became Sunday afternoon dread. Then Saturday evening dread. I stopped talking about work at home—not because it was confidential, but because there was nothing worth sharing. My LinkedIn profile gathered dust. Industry articles went unread. The fire was out.

What Passion Actually Feels Like

In your body, passion feels like electricity. Your chest opens. Your mind races with possibilities. You lose track of time. You forget to eat. You wake up at 3 AM with ideas. Your hands itch to create, to do, to make something happen.

Without passion? Everything feels heavy. Time drags. You watch the clock. You count the years until retirement. Your body feels like it’s moving through molasses. Even success feels hollow because you just don’t care anymore.

The Myths About Finding Passion

Myth: You need to quit your job to find passion.
Reality: I kept my job and built passion on the side. Bills still need paying. Insurance still matters. Sometimes passion grows in the margins before it can take center stage.

Myth: Passion has to be your career.
Reality: My passion project (Enlightenzz) exists alongside my career. They don’t have to merge. Sometimes keeping them separate protects the passion from becoming obligation.

Myth: It’s too late to find new passion after 60.
Reality: I started Enlightenzz at 61. If anything, I had more clarity about what mattered, less patience for BS, and zero interest in impressing anyone.

Myth: Passion should feel easy.
Reality: Building Enlightenzz is hard work. But it’s hard work that energizes rather than depletes. That’s the difference.

The Golden Handcuffs Dilemma

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the well-paying job you can’t afford to leave. At 61, with retirement on the horizon, walking away from good money and benefits isn’t brave—it’s potentially foolish.

The golden handcuffs are real:

• Health insurance that actually covers things
• Retirement contributions in the final earning years
• Financial obligations that don’t care about your passion
• The very real age discrimination in job hunting
• The stability that lets you sleep at night

So you stay. But staying doesn’t mean surrendering.

Building Passion in the Margins

I created Enlightenzz in the spaces between:

• Early mornings before the workday started
• Lunch breaks spent writing instead of scrolling
• Evenings when I could have watched TV
• Weekends that became creative time
• Vacation days used for website development

It wasn’t about finding time—it was about reclaiming it. Every hour spent on Enlightenzz was an hour invested in remembering who I was beyond the corporate role.

What Reigniting Passion Really Takes

Permission to Start Small
Enlightenzz didn’t launch as a full website. It started as one article. Then two. Then ten. Small sparks, not a bonfire.

Willingness to Be Bad at Something
I knew nothing about WordPress, SEO, or web design. My first attempts were terrible. But terrible and passionate beats competent and numb.

Separation from Outcomes
If Enlightenzz never makes a dime, it’s still worth it. The passion itself is the point, not what it produces.

Protection from Contamination
I don’t talk about Enlightenzz at work. I don’t let work seep into Enlightenzz time. They’re separate worlds, and that separation keeps the passion pure.

The Unexpected Benefits of Side Passion

Here’s what I didn’t expect: Enlightenzz made me better at my day job. Not because the skills transferred (they didn’t), but because having passion somewhere in my life changed my entire energy.

With Enlightenzz as my outlet:

• I became more patient with corporate frustrations
• I stopped taking work problems personally
• I had something to look forward to after 5 PM
• My creativity in one area sparked creativity in another
• I remembered what it felt like to care about something

Passion vs. Purpose

Passion and purpose aren’t the same thing. My day job has purpose—it provides for my family, contributes to the economy, helps businesses run. But purpose without passion is duty. It’s obligation. It’s checking boxes.

Enlightenzz has both passion and purpose. It connects women. It shares stories. It builds community. But even if it didn’t have grand purpose, the passion alone would be enough. Because passion is what makes you feel alive.

The Reality of Midlife Passion

At 61, passion looks different than at 25:

It’s More Focused
I don’t have energy to be passionate about everything. I choose carefully where to spend my fire.

It’s Less Performative
I don’t need to prove my passion to anyone. It’s not about looking passionate; it’s about feeling it.

It’s More Protective
I guard my passion projects fiercely. Not everyone gets access. Not every opinion matters.

It’s More Urgent
Time is finite. If not now, when? This urgency fuels action in a way youth never did.

Finding Your Enlightenzz

Your passion project doesn’t have to be a website or a business. It could be:

• Learning an instrument you’ve always wanted to play
• Writing the stories only you can tell
• Creating art that no one else might see
• Building community around something you care about
• Teaching skills you’ve mastered
• Advocating for causes that matter

The form doesn’t matter. What matters is that it makes you feel something again.

The Courage to Feel Again

Starting Enlightenzz wasn’t just about creating something new. It was about admitting that I’d gone numb. That somewhere along the way, I’d traded feeling for safety, passion for paychecks, aliveness for stability.

And that trade might be necessary. Bills are real. Responsibilities are real. But that doesn’t mean you have to accept numbness as the price of security.

When Passion Feels Selfish

There’s guilt in pursuing passion when you have obligations. Time spent on Enlightenzz is time not spent on other things. Energy invested in creativity is energy not available elsewhere.

But here’s what I learned: Running on empty serves no one. A numbed-out version of me wasn’t a better wife, mother, or employee. Passion isn’t selfish—it’s necessary for showing up as a whole person.

Today’s Choice

Today, choose to be passionate about something—anything—outside your obligations. Not tomorrow when you have more time. Not next year when things settle down. Today.

Start stupidly small. Write one paragraph. Sketch one drawing. Research one class. Plant one seed. Send one email. Take one step toward something that makes you feel something.

Because passion isn’t always about burning it all down. Sometimes it’s about lighting one small fire in a part of your life that’s gone cold. One ember. One spark. That’s all it takes.

And no, it hasn’t replaced my day job yet. But it’s replaced the part of me that had started to disappear. And at 61, that resurrection feels like everything.