If you went and asked everybody you saw on the street if they would like to keep their inner fires alive, if they would like to see their desires manifested in the world as accomplishments, if they would like to be the primary driving forces in their lives, most people would certainly give you an affirmative answer. Meanwhile, if you had the ability to see into these people’s lives and compare their answers to the lives they live, you’d see a huge disparity in most. What causes the fire to die out and for people to fall into a dangerous routine of hopping into the passenger seat of their lives?
There are plenty of answers that can be offered. Maybe they don’t lead a purpose-driven life with a clear and discernible goal to achieve. Maybe they have self-esteem issues and underestimate their own ability to live out their lives in this way. Perhaps they are the subjects of some unfortunate circumstances and have seen their lives as being set to that pattern
The father of the modern self-esteem movement in psychotherapy, Nathaniel Branden, offered a two-prong approach to guaranteeing that we always have the winds at our backs in our lives. 
In his essay “Passion and Soulfulness,” Branden says we need to, at the very least, appreciate the positive aspects of our life and be committed to action in our goals. Appreciating what is positive about your own specific life is important here. We each have things that make us come alive and make us feel truly human. These differ for each individual. Once we have identified these things — and the things we don’t enjoy — we then can be committed to action in improving our lives.
Even when our life is most difficult, it is important to remember that something within us is keeping us alive — the life force — that lifts us, energizes us, pulls us back sometimes from the abyss of despair. True spirituality does not exist without love of life.
If you catch yourself in a rut and unsure of how you want to approach heading forward in life over the coming days, months, or years, I encourage you to check out Branden’s essay.
How do we nurture the soul? By revering our own life. By treating it as supremely important. By reaching for the best within ourselves. By learning to love it all, not only the joys and the victories, but also the pain and struggles.