On the Floor In The Arena

On the Floor In The Arena

Written: March 2020: Inspired April 1st, 2021 to share:

I was approached to write an article on “my passion.” I wrote the following piece and shortly thereafter the pandemic hit and this piece went into the wilderness. It’s been quite the year in “the arena” so I thought I’d revisit and share this piece.

 With a career in sales that I enjoy and having started a small business with my mom, I was recently invited to share my thoughts on “finding my passion.”  

I instantly became worried that I didn’t have a direct answer to this question and wasn’t qualified to write this article. What concerned me most in this thought process is that I consider myself a highly passionate individual. So, not being able to rattle off a straight answer, rattled me. 

 

I quickly decided that instead of getting wrapped up in what my passion is, it made more sense for to me to look at how I define passion. 

 

I happened to find a profound connection within sports early in my life that has been a constant for me to this day. If you would have asked me five, ten, twenty, even thirty years ago what my passion is, I would have quickly said sport or anything that has to do with the game. 

 Fast forward to today. The last couple years gutted me to the core. The growth process transformed how I look at the world and myself, and as a result changed how I define passion. I used to think passion was a thing; for me sport. What I couldn’t discern then that I see vividly now, is that my passion is a feeling. I’ve learned that mine has never been tied to a game, court, field or even business. It is tied to the joy that I feel standing on the floor in “the arena.”

 Theodore Roosevelt introduced us to “the arena” through his renowned speech, “The Man in the Arena.” This phrase was most recently coined and conceptualized by Brené Brown in her book, Daring Greatly. Roosevelt’s words and Brené’s writing resonated deeply within me.

 On the floor of “The arena” represents more than just physical space; to me, it is wholistic. It is a grace-induced, vulnerable, get your hands dirty, wildly uncertain, dare to risk, testing of limits, invitation to level up, 360 degree view of everything that lies within the joy that awakens you. I've always found a deep-rooted sense of joy in its environment. Joy that fills me whole. Joy that leaves me coming back for more. Joy that makes me feel alive.

I’ve made a purposeful effort to stay on the floor and in “the arena” throughout my life through sport and business because of the joy that it gifts me and passion it reveals.  

Herein lies the evolution of my Blog and its title On The Floor In The Arena. Game is ON. Blog is live. This is new to me so please be gentle and patient and----join me on the floor. Let’s Play.

 Melissa, The Buzz