Seven things that won't fuel your passion

Carey Nieuwhof April 3, 2025

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The longer you're in leadership, the more aware you become of what really fuels passion over the long haul.

The question that drives me (a lot) these days is this: How do you stay passionate over a long period of time?

Some things fuel passion in the short term, but they don't last.

Two things often fuel passion in leaders in the short term:

#1 First. When you're a young leader, doing something for the first time can feel like passion. Your first team, first successes, first failures, first learnings, first accomplishments.

#2 New. Every time you start something new you get passionate. That's why some leaders love change. Sometimes leaders love change too much. Sometimes we change not because the organization needs change, but because we got bored.

That's all good, but you get to a point after a few years where you realize life isn't a series of firsts or a series of new.

What then? Sometimes, leaders try to find substitutes for authentic passion.

Here are five more things that won't fuel your passion long term:

#1 Caffeine. If you haven't got much deep-down passion, caffeine is a cheap substitute. Whether it's Red Bull, Starbucks or some monster energy, getting the juices flowing just feels so good. It can make you feel excited even if you're not.

#2 Overscheduling. If a leader isn't excited about anything big (no big challenge on the radar), one temptation is to fill life up with too many little things. So we overbook, overwork and over commit hoping to rekindle some energy and momentum.

#3 Hype. Feeling a lack of passion deep down, we'll try to convince ourselves and everyone else that what we're doing is the BEST THING EVER, even when we're not sure it is.

#4 Time off. If you're not engaged deep down, leaders will sometimes just wander away, spending less and less time engaging in what they've been called to do.

#5 Find a New (Side) Passion. If you're not passionate about the main thing, you'll find something else to be passionate about—whether that's building the biggest deck in history in your backyard or starting a new ministry on the side.

All of it's sad, because you're not really doing the thing God called you to do. Because you don't have the passion for it anymore. And the things that you thought fueled passion weren't really doing it.

It also avoids the hard soul work that actually fuels long-term passion.

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Carey Nieuwhof is a former lawyer and founding pastor of Connexus Church. He’s the author of several best-selling books, including, Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the Seven Greatest Challenges That No One Expects But Everyone Experiences. Carey speaks to leaders around the world about leadership, change and personal growth. Learn More »

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