A Passionate Reflection

The Following is the first of what I intend to post weekly. A column of sorts of less than 500 words. I want to try my hand at writing a column and felt this would be a good place to practice. I appreciate all comments!
Enjoy

Motivation. Where does it come from? How do we define it on an individual basis. Why do we do the things we do?
In my opinion motivation comes from tempered passion. If we allowed our passion to run wild we would run wild doing all sorts of crazy things. Therefore our passion is tempered with constraints, such as societal norms, parental rules, financial needs and personal obligations.
What does passion consist of? Again my opinion. I believe that it is part of our spiritual, genetic and environmental influences. At the core of passion lies influence. There has to be something that sparks the proverbial flame of passion.
Think back to when you were a child and compare yourself to the person you are now. What excited you or drove you, what motivated you? What were you passionate about? Reflect for a moment, is that passion still an aspect of your life today? How has it molded you, directed your path in life? On the contrary, what outside influences have driven you from your passion, yet still deep inside you know it's there?
This is where motivation surfaces. We are compelled by our passion to act. Passion begets strong emotions. It can lead to wild joy or deep sorrow. It can lead to hideous anger or burning desire. Harnessing passion has led to wondrous undertakings by people all throughout history. In your own history, where has passion led you? Consequently there is a yang to motivations yin. The yang is procrastination.
Procrastination causes us to ignore the flame of passion. It can even cause the fire to dim. It is the antithesis to motivation. Now procrastination is not all bad. It does have benefits. For instance instead of allowing your passion to pull you along for a wild ride, it puts on the brakes and allows you to direct it comfortably. Like a drug, procrastination can have an addictive side effect. Before you know it you can completely ignore motivation and wholeheartedly adopt procrastination (passionate about procrastination?)
Passion is molded by opposing forces, procrastination and motivation. It is tempered by our values and societal pressure. It's priority in our lives is subject to our personal obligations.
Go back to the memory of childhood passion and ask yourself, “Have I strayed from my passion? Have I molded passion to define my life? Have I become a procrastination addict?”
I have applied these contemplative and reflective questions to my passion as a writer. It took nearly forty-four years but I have shed the procrastination addition. Now I write everyday and it feels good!
What is your passion, and how has it developed over the years? I would love to hear your comments!