Sometimes You Just Gotta Do What You Just Cannot NOT Do! (That's a mouthful, eh?)

Can pursuing your passion increase your happiness and longevity?

Find out as we uncover the secrets behind the magnetic pull of passion and purpose, drawing inspiration from icons like Steve Jobs and Maya Angelou.

We will explore the Self-Determination Theory, explaining the essence of our intrinsic motivation through autonomy, competence, and relatedness. I’ll also share my journey of launching this podcast, driven by an unrelenting desire to impact despite facing numerous challenges.

Discover how following your passion can lower stress, boost happiness, and even add years to your life, supported by compelling studies like the Harvard study on purpose.

Angela Duckworth’s research on grit also reveals how passion fortifies resilience and keeps you motivated despite adversity.

We'll then shift gears to emphasize the vital role you, our listeners, play in our show's evolution.

Your feedback, topic suggestions, and guest recommendations are integral to the podcast’s success. I invite you to actively participate by sharing your questions and ideas across various platforms.

Your support and involvement will help shape the next 100 episodes, ensuring our journey is collaborative.

Together, we can push boundaries, stay motivated, and pursue daily growth, creating content that inspires and resonates deeply with all our listeners. 

Tune in to discover actionable steps to find and chase your passion, and let’s make the future of our podcast a reflection of our shared enthusiasm and dedication.

Transcript

Dai Manuel: 0:07

Today we're diving deep into a topic that resonates with me on a very personal level. Sometimes you gotta do what you can't not do. Let me say that again in case you didn't get it the first time. Sometimes you gotta do what you can't not do, so brace yourselves. This one's a roller coaster. Have you ever felt a pull towards something so strong you couldn't ignore it? Potentially a dream, a passion, a calling or, as we all tend to refer to it, a purpose? That's what we're chatting about today, and I'm going to let you in on a little secret. This is a biggie regarding mental health and well-being, and the best part it's with the power to recognize and pursue it. So let's get into it. Doing what you can't not do sounds like a tongue twister, right, but it's about feeling that drive to chase after something, no matter what. Think about steve jobs or maya angelou. They had a passion and they pursued it, no matter what, and you know what you can too. There's actual science behind this Decke, and Ryan's self-determination theory tells us that we're driven by autonomy, competence and relatedness. When you're doing what you love, you're fulfilling these needs. It's like a little reward from your brain. Let me share a bit of my journey. It's like a little reward from your brain. Let me share a bit of my journey.

Dai Manuel: 1:47

When I started this podcast, I had this unshakable desire to make an impact in other people's lives and to really just help people. There were late nights, there were a lot of technical glitches I'm still experiencing those glitches but there was also a lot of moments of self-doubt. But I couldn't not do it. I just couldn't. There was nothing in me Because the idea of not doing it scared me more than the idea of just doing it. And look at where we are now.

Dai Manuel: 2:19

This is episode 103. 103. Can you believe that? Oh my goodness.

Dai Manuel: 2:23

Now discuss how following your passion impacts your mental. So when you do what you love, stress decreases and happiness increases, even though we got studies that prove this. Aka Harvard study found that having a sense of purpose can literally add years to your life. Can you imagine that? So when you wake up with a purpose, you could live longer. Just that one little thing right. And it's not a little thing. If you've listened to the episode where I talk about the blue zones, we know that in longevity one of the key power nine principles. So when we think about those countries where they have people living to be a hundred plus and they're not waiting around to die, all right. They're waiting around, actually, for the next dance, right, the next song to come on, because they're active centurions. Anyways, I digress, but here's this cool little thing, this little misnomer when we have a clear sense of purpose and, as Nietzsche said, with a strong enough sense of why, we can always endure anyhow. And it's interesting, right when we think about that, it doesn't matter what I need to do to get there, my purpose will see me through those highs and lows. Pretty empowering, really, when you start to think about it.

Dai Manuel: 3:46

Passion also builds resilience. You've probably heard angela duckworth's research on grit, and if you haven't checked out her ted talk, it's phenomenal. In that research she shows that those passionate about their goals are likelier to keep going, even even when it gets hard, right, when it gets tough, when we wake up and we're like, why keep doing this? It's hard, I'm not enjoying this, it's so challenging, I can't continue. But yet those with passion and a passionate purpose, they're more likely to keep going, even in those moments when they want to quit. And what about that little thing called motivation when they want to quit? And what about that little thing called motivation? Well, when you're doing what you can't not do, motivation levels go through the roof. The American Psychological Association found that when you're doing something because it's inherently rewarding, you're happier and more effective. You get more stuff done.

Dai Manuel: 4:47

Now how can you find and chase your passion? I've got three simple steps. Number one you got to identify your passion. I know it sounds almost ridiculous or overly obvious, right, nonsensical, but ask yourself what activities make me lose track of time? I mean, think about those things that you do. And when you do it it's like you look at, you're watching like holy smokes. Three hours this went by and I can't remember. Now, don't be talking about scrolling or swiping left and swiping right. That's a whole different type of activity. But really, what activities do you find that you lose yourself in? These questions can help you uncover what indeed makes you tick. So that's step one identifying your passion. Now step two overcoming barriers, fear of failure, societal expectations. Hey, we've all been there. But remember, every successful person has overcome these same challenges. You can too. So, first of all, identify your passion, then overcome some barriers, and then number three is the most critical of all, because nothing happens unless you do.

Dai Manuel: 5:58

Number three, and that's taking action. Create a plan to bring your passion into your daily life. What if you applied 2% of every 24 hours to doing that little thing that you call your passion? 2%? What is that, again, everybody? Well, I think you know it's 30 minutes, right, or 28.8 minutes to be precise, for those that are really well obsessed with accuracy.

Dai Manuel: 6:24

But seriously, this idea of taking action, just do it. I know it sounds silly and it sounds like a really nice slogan, doesn't it? Just do it. But there's so much more satisfaction when you can say I just did it. So, making yourself a priority and your passion a priority every day for a minimum of 30 minutes, it's not a huge commitment, but it's a commitment that you can keep to yourself. That's epic. So make it easy to take action. Break down your big dreams into smaller, manageable steps and create that plan to bring your passion into that daily life that you are going to be thriving in.

Dai Manuel: 7:02

So, number one ID your passion. Number two overcome some barriers. Number three get off your butt. Take a few steps and keep taking more Repeat. Now let's say you're passionate about something like writing. Start with just 15 minutes, even a day. That's 1% of every 24 hours Then gradually increases.

Dai Manuel: 7:21

Time goes, as you get your used to it, it becomes normal, because consistency is key questions that I had come in from the community. One question was how can I start integrating my passion into my busy schedule? And I totally get that one. Just start small. Even a few minutes each day dedicated to your passion can make a big difference, right? So 2%, come on. We all got that time. We know if we take out our smartphones, we get the screen time section. We are amazed At least I'm going to take ownership here I am amazed at how much Netflix time I accumulate over seven days. I could easily consume probably an extra book a month just on my Netflix time. You know when there's those little excuses that I sometimes find myself oh, I haven't read a book lately, it's like, well, it's because I've been misallocating some time, you know. Anyways, I I digress again. Uh, that was a great question, by the way.

Dai Manuel: 8:20

And and this other question that someone shared and it was anonymous actually came in from, uh, spotify. It says what's the best way to stay motivated? When? When pursuing a goal? And and I'm going to replace goal today with passion, you know, like, because really we should be passionate about our goals, and so I'm making it more relevant to today's conversation. But keep in mind why are you passionate? Celebrate small wins and just remember the big picture, because while you're moving along that path towards that big, big, audacious goal or passion that you're pursuing, there's going to be little goals along the way. You know, if you chop it down bit by bit and I always say you know, reverse, engineer back with as many steps as you can foresee, because we can foresee there's lots of proof out there. Right, we got people that have done things that we ourselves may very well want to do. Well, what were some of the steps they took to get? Okay, that's great. Those may not be the same steps for you, but I bet you there's a lot of repeat, wash, rinse, repeat of what they did, and you are more than capable of doing those same things. So that's already identified some small incremental steps that we ourselves can start to take.

Dai Manuel: 9:29

Now. All journeys are personal. No matter what, nobody can walk the walk for you. So along that personal journey, you're going to identify your own mini steps, along those steps that you've already planned out. Well, every time you reach one of those, celebrate. Whether it's only for an hour, we get to celebrate. I'm going to go and do something awesome. Go eat at your favorite restaurant, with a budget in mind, of course, but if it's a big enough reward, I think that goal should be representative of that right, because if it's a big goal, big reward, small goal, small reward. But either way, you're still celebrating. So that's all we got for today, my wellness warriors. And so remember, sometimes you have to do what you can't not do. Following your passion can enrich your life and boost your mental health. Those little challenges, the 2% improvements, can lead to big transformations.

Dai Manuel: 10:28

Before I wrap up, I'd love to hear from you.

Dai Manuel: 10:30

What topics are you interested in? Who do you want to hear from? Is there somebody out there that you know of or that you love, that you find fascinating and you think they should be a great guest on the show? Please make a connection comment via Spotify or iTunes, or just. You know you can find me on any of the socials and just shoot me a little DM and throw your question at me. I'll be sure to reference you. When I read your question, the last few have come in and, honestly, it's just weird. It might be an issue with Spotify? I don't know, but it's not telling your name. So if you sign the question with your name or initials, I'll be sure to give you credit for that question, but whoever's been asking the questions good questions, by the way keep them coming. Anyways, who do you want to hear from?

Dai Manuel: 11:14

Your input helps literally shape the show all right, and I really want this next 100 episodes to be a huge collaboration with you, the listeners, because I have you to thank for where we're at right now, because you know what You're keeping me fired up and you're keeping me moving forward and, based on today's conversation, this is definitely one of my big passions in life is connecting with all of you and supporting you directly through the show and medium. So, before we wrap up, I want to hear from you. Message me. All right, that's my invitation to you. If you heard today's episode, message me. Uh, thank you for being a part of this journey. Here's to the next hundred episodes. Keep pushing your limits, stay positive and always aim for that 2% improvement daily. This is Don Manuel, and you've been listening to the 2% Solution. Let's keep thriving together.