When I first decided to stay home with kids it was tough. All my friends were at work and I was very busy with my kids. There was little free time to seek hobbies. As my kids got into school and I had a bit of free time I decided to do a few things for myself. First, I got a dog and started walking. Then I got brave and decided to get back into dance. And now, I have my blog. Not only have I met great people with similar interests but I have things to look forward to now.
So How Do You Know You Have Found a Passion?
You not only smile, you enjoy the moment. Tonight, I was tap dancing in the kitchen and kicked the dog’s water bowl. I was soaked! Everyone laughed. I love dance. Sometimes I find myself dancing while walking the dog. Passer-by drivers probably wonder what I am doing. This is how you know you have found a passion. You think about it a lot. You practice it a lot. You enjoy it a lot.
What if you are so far from your passions you are not sure what they are anymore? I was there too. Here are some ideas to help you find a fun thing to do for yourself.
3 Ways to Find Your Passion
1. Learn to Say No
A completely full schedule can make you feel stuck and unable to follow your dreams. But do you really need to do everything in your schedule? We often take on commitments that we don’t really need to do, and we continue to do them out of habit or guilt. Look back over your schedule from the past month. What items are you really excited about doing and love to do? Is there a way you can do it faster, ask for help, or do it less often? Eliminating even one or two unnecessary activities per month can free up time to follow your passion.
2. Maximize Your Waiting Times
We all know that moms spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting to pick up our kids from activities or school. Waiting at the doctor’s office. Standing in line at the grocery store. Waiting to meet a friend for coffee. There are lots of small bits of time in your day that you can put to use taking action on your passion. You might bookmark sites in your interest area to read during these down times, or a carry a related book that you can read, or even keep a notebook with you to do some planning in these moments of waiting.
3. Take a Class or a Lesson
If something was interesting in the past, look for a class to learn more about it. A cooking class, a computer-design class, a painting outing with friends, a make-your-own ceramics store, a belly-dancing class — they can help you learn where your passions reside.
We Live in a Busy Loop
We juggle our lives between faith, family, fun, work, health, and relationships. We strive to keep everyone happy by doing a lot, but the fact remains that we rarely get things done. It’s like treading water where you try to tick off a list of tasks from your to-do list. If you think about it, we spend a lot of time on the treadmill of chaos. Finding 1 thing that makes you happy can help you focus on the tasks at hand. Give yourself permission to have a little fun. So while it probably feels like your passions are out of reach right now, try to appreciate the journey and be open to opportunities as they arise.
great advice!