What Jack Skellington taught me about passion

Yes. I AM taking advice from a singing skeleton in a suit. Pass no judgment.

As I sit and watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas” for the fortieth time, I can admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for the guy. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, has just concluded another successful Halloween season. The town throws a parade in his honor. Appearances are made. Jack is celebrated once again as the “Master of Fright.”

However, what the town’s people fail to see is that beneath that frightening grin, Jack is exhausted. Not just from the season, but life.

Burnout happens.

Jack and I have something in common. I am also lost, overwhelmed, and confused. I have just gone through one of the most difficult years of my life having only my strained mental health to show for it. Loved ones have tried to be supportive, but their questions leave me searching.

How am I feeling? Anxious, thanks.

What am I doing? Look, I don’t even know what day it is.

What are my plans? Breathing. Breathing sounds great.

Watching Mr. Skellington belt on about this deep yearning feels very affirming. I, too, feel an ache for something different.

Then, he finds Christmas Town. It is a stark contrast to Halloween town and all of the things that Jack has grown tired of. The new place moves him, throwing him into an impassioned frenzy to claim it as his own. Unfortunately, the entire thing goes up in flames.

So, what have I learned from ole Jack about passion and purpose?

Passion is not enough to avoid exhaustion.

Let me say it again for the people in the back.

Passion is not enough.

Burnout happens when our passion is extinguished by being spread too thin or in too many directions. It happens when our core values are not validated in our workplace or our home. It happens when we stop working with a focus on our future or when we forget why we are here. Burnout happens when we pour ourselves, our energy, out to people and things that do not reciprocate.

The people in Halloween town did not understand what Jack was looking for. They did not understand that feeling he found in Christmas town. He attempted to explain it to them, pouring all of his energy out to people who did not share in his excitement. They did not have his motivation. They could not understand his drive, his need, to capture that feeling. Jack had the passion and he poured it into his new idea. But his passion was not enough to keep him from burning himself out again. Instead of channeling his energy into one area, he tried to do it all.

Reaching the point of burnout is frighteningly easy to do. It happens to entrepreneurs all the time. They spend an exorbitant amount of money and time on an idea, pouring every part of themselves into the project, only to find themselves broke (and not just financially).

I have been teetering entirely too close to exhaustion lately. I have signed up for all of the classes and all of the programs. I have inundated myself with resources but have not allowed myself the time to go through them. I don’t just want to learn to write stronger copy. I want to learn social media marketing, course creation, ebooks, podcasts, website design, just to name a few. I have poured myself into learning all of the things instead of focusing on one.

I have also poured myself into people who did not understand my goals. They do not understand why I want to cultivate my own company. They do not understand my need to write. They do not understand my yearning to collaborate with others who are improving their craft.

But running headlong, albeit passionately, is not going to help me be successful. I’ll end up like Jack, curled up in the arms of a timeworn angel headstone, bemoaning my lack of forethought.

I must have a plan to make me active.

I must have a goal to keep me moving.

I must have a purpose to guide my motivation.

Add some fuel to my fire and I’m ready to take on the world… or maybe just the day.

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