I just watched an interview with tennis champion Martina Navratilova. She was asked what makes a person great. She replied, “Passion.”

She’s right. Without passion, there is no point in doing anything. I’m not talking about those daily chores that are essential to keep body and soul together, like working, grocery shopping, #cooking, cleaning. No, they aren’t fun, but we endure them because we quite like being alive. At least, it seems better than the alternative.

But passion for the things we yearn to do as opposed to the essential business of living, that’s the chili pepper of life. No one makes us write, play music or tennis, or paint. Those are the things we choose to do — or, you could argue, they choose us. We cannot imagine our lives without them.

Many years ago I decided to stop writing. I couldn’t fit it in to being a new mother, working full time, and having any number of other demands on my time. But like a missing chapter in a novel, its absence grated on me. I stuck it for a few months, then I caved. The need to write was too strong, and while I have gone through troughs of enthusiasm on occasion, the passion never really expires.

How, then, do you maintain the passion for something like writing or any other practice? Here are some things that work for me:

Start by writing down what you want to accomplish and why. When your enthusiasm lags over the following months (or years), you can remind yourself of what inspired you in the first place.

Break the big project down into manageable parts. There’s no point in getting overwhelmed by trying to do too much at once.

Reward achievements. A chapter finished is worth a new book or a movie, don’t you think?

Use positive quotes to motivate yourself. Google ‘motivational quotes for writers’, or look them up on Pinterest. Many writers websites have them, too. Find a handful that resonate with you and repeat them to yourself as often as necessary. Make them into art and hang them over your desk, or get a mug with your favourite line on it. Make them part of who you are.

Take regular breaks. No, the break shouldn’t be longer than the work period, but a five minute intermission in a 30-minute writing session is good. Also, a day off here and there is good for your health as well as your work.

Continue to learn about the art of writing. Listen to podcasts, read books, go to lectures.

Read books you love. Nothing is more inspiring than excellence.

Expand your friend and acquaintance groups with people who share your passion.

Explore your passion with a journal. Identify the things that delight you and the things that you find troublesome.

There will almost certainly be times when the passion runs dry. If you are in the middle of a personal crisis, that’s understandable. But think of lost passion as a symptom, not a cause, and resolve that cause however you can. If you’re dealing with serious life-changing issues, then they need to be your focus. Sometimes, though, clinging to the thing that makes your heart beat faster is the psychological life-preserver that will carry you through any number of disasters.

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