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Imagine, if you will, a book outlining every moment of your life. We all have such a book, each page pertaining to a day of our lives. However, no page may repeat. Thus, for each day we go through the same routine and nothing else, there is no additional page.

To live with passion means to make each day memorable. We may not remember any particular day several weeks down the road, but we should all remember each day of the past week by more than what we had for lunch. Given our nine-to-five society, routine is necessary, but the day extends far beyond those hours. What we do with the rest of those hours, that's what fills the pages.

But what does it take to make each day memorable? There are a few basic principles that can be applied to anyone's life, regardless of your passion. I'm not here to deliver trite and diluted adages such as "Live each day as if it's your last." No, consequence should still be kept in mind. Rather, feel the need to justify nothing.

Within law and decency, so long as we enjoy ourselves, we shouldn't feel like we need to explain our actions. And yet, we do anyway. Often from fear of social rejection, we feel that our urges should not be brought to fruition without an explanation. Imagine how many opportunities you may have lost to this way of thinking. It's a difficult state of mind to break away from, but doing so will make each day all the more memorable. So today, think about what you're going to do, not why you're going to do it.

But what of the hours in which we're locked in routine? During these times, so too can we live memorable days, days of passion. Think back to the time shortly before you started your current job. Something about it lured you in, something more than just the money, I'm sure. After all, with few exceptions, any career's salary can be matched by another. Perhaps it was a specialty of yours, or maybe it was an opportunity to break into new ground. A third possibility still, maybe it was for the money, and you took it to support the ones you love. Whatever the case, the next time the monotony of the daily grind gets under your skin, think back to those days and rediscover the excitement of the opportunity. Find pleasure in all that you do, regardless of why you enjoy it. After all, nothing we enjoy needs to be justified.

To find pleasure in all that you do, however, means to be at some level of peace with yourself. Arguably, full inner peace is hardly achievable by everyday people such as you and me. But even the most self-loathing among us likes something about him or herself. So, in order to enjoy all that we do with no need for justification, we must take pride in all that we are. Maybe you're a lowly custodian, but without you, the facility would be below operable cleanliness standards. You're just as crucial to business as anyone else in the company. Maybe you work in middle management. You may have more bosses than employees, but at least you've earned the privilege of managing others. Or perhaps you're like me, a college dropout pushing to get by in an economically struggling society. But each month that you keep your head above water is a testament to your efforts, proving to the world that you're not one to give up easily.

So, how do we live every day with passion and make each day memorable? We find pleasure in all that we do with no need for explaining ourselves, and we do so by taking pride in all that we are. Now look back at your life so far. Is your book a novel, an epic or a massive tome?

Learn more about this author, Erik Setser.
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