The Secrets of Enthusiasm

Wallace's Weekly Wrap

Happy Friday you wonderful humans.

When you hear the word  enthusiastic , where does your mind go?

The first thing I see in my mind is a smile, an excited individual with a skip in their step, with seemingly boundless energy because they are happy. They are doing what they love and sharing their enthusiasm with the world. They have a balance of inputs and outputs and they are doing both what needs to be done, and what they want to do.

Enthusiasm is powered by purpose, gratitude, happiness and excitement. All of the ingredients that when stirred together result in a life of meaning, a life worth living, a life that (I think) we all want to be living.

I nerded out a little during the week and looked up the origin of the word 'enthusiasm' and what I found was perfect. It is derived from the word 'Enthusiasmous: The root of enthusiasm' Which quite literally means 'Filled with Theos' or god, or quality, or soul, or excellence, or whatever word you have to describe the ultimate unknown.

To be filled with Theos means that you are not sitting, waiting and wishing for a better existence. You are taking control of your life, chasing what sets your soul on fire, looking for love and challenge and experience and embracing it when it comes.

Life is short. It feels like only yesterday that I was at school, or playing my first senior game of football, or running our first session at Virtus. But it wasn't. I graduated in 2009, played my first game of football in the same year and coached my first session at Virtus in 2015. Those milestones were 11 and 5 years ago respectively. So much for yesterday.

"I didn't realise it, but the days came along one after another, and then two years were gone, and everything was gone, and I was gone" //F. Scott Fitzgerald

The point I'm trying to make is that life move's pretty fast, too fast to not live a life fuelled by enthusiasm.

Are you enthusiastic about what you do? Or are you just getting by? Surviving? Waiting and wishing for a better future which may or may not come into existence?

If your answer is yes, fantastic, it is your responsibility (and opportunity) to spread your enthusiasm. To infect everyone you come across to bring it out in them, to show the world what a magnificent life it can be if we love what we do.

If you answered no, then the time is now to make a change. To shift your direction towards the life you want to live. To do the things that you love, that you're good at, and the things that the world needs.

When we are young,  we play.  We chase the things that we love. My childhood memories are filled with kicking the footy, climbing trees, playing pokemon. I didn't do those things because I had to, I did them because I wanted to, because they brought me joy. What are your memories filled with? I can assume that they were filled with fun, not bills, deadlines and expectations.

But somewhere along the line, these things fade into memories. Whether it's due to those expectations (our own or imagined), the structure of society, or simply the pressure of being an 'adult' we stop, Play ceases, as does fun, as does enthusiasm. as we age we stop playing, and start working.  

"If the process is more important than the result, you play. If the result is more important than the process, you work" // Khe Hy

Maybe the secret to being enthusiastic is about finding our play. Or maybe the way to find our play is to do the things we are enthusiastic about. Either way, if you can find the things in your life that feel like play and perform these things with a level of consistency and commitment to them, you can create a life full of enthusiasm. A life which brings with it a sense of fun, meaning and fulfilment

Enthusiasm is supported by doing the basics well.  The simple things that you know you should. Those daily targets that take discipline, but will afford you the ultimate freedom and fuel your enthusiasm. Think 8 Hours Sleep, 3 Litres of Water, 10,000 Steps, 3 good quality meals, 20 minutes of reading, and a strength & conditioning session. Tick these boxes and I can bet you'll find yourself with more energy, more excitement and more enthusiasm about the life you are lucky enough to lead.

Wallace

P.S Last week I sat down in front of the podcast mic solo and riffed on journalling and routine. I think it'll add value.
Hit this link to give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Below: Queen Mich ticking the legs over on the bike, next to some artwork on the wall at Virtus. I'm proud of all of our humans, this one especially.