Are you following your heart?
Are you following your heart’s deepest passion? Are you living your dreams?
Have you ever gotten a tap on the shoulder from the Universe? You know what I mean, a wink from God telling you to pay attention. That was the gift I received this past week.
Once upon a time, I wrote fiction novels. Actually, I wrote my first book at the age of 14, a romance similar to the Sweet Valley High series I read so much at the time. I wrote it all by hand on loose-leaf, then typed it out after I nagged my parents to death and got a typewriter for my birthday. Later, before embarking on the adventure of writing and publishing Being Human, I honed my writing skills by completing two full novels and a short story, all of which I saved on a couple of backup hard drives. This picture is actually a mock-up book cover that my oldest daughter made for me in 2007 as part of a “vision board” for my writing.
Last week, as I was cleaning off some old documents from a USB stick, I stumbled across one of my stories—the one in the mock-up. I opened it and starting reading the first chapter, and a fire sparked in my belly. As much as I love my career and am passionate about what I do every day, the fiction novel has its own kind of magic, a magic that I need a bit more of in my life.
In the last month, not one but two of my coaching clients both found a solution to what ailed them through some guided questions. Both are mothers and both came to me with mild to moderate dissatisfaction and apathy. Lo and behold, both came to the conclusion: that part of the problem was that they were not following their deepest passion—their soul’s purpose. The mortgage had to be paid and kids had to be driven around to activities, they both work full-time, and they had lost the spark in their lives.
My advice to them? Add more to their to-do lists. Yup, more.
Do you remember your first crush, or the first time you were truly in love? Do you remember how easy life was? You didn’t need to eat or sleep, because you would gladly stay up all night to just be with your love. You had the glow, inside and out. Have you ever had that feeling with a hobby? Have you ever been so passionate about something you would gladly work at it for six hours straight with no breaks and feel like it was just an hour?
Sometimes when we grow up, we feel the weight of responsibility on our shoulders and we no longer indulge in what lights the fire in our belly. But while not all of us can make careers out of our passions, that doesn’t mean we should put them to bed forever.
My challenge for both of my coaching clients was to indulge in their passion for 10 minutes a morning: long enough to get their juices going and help them face the rest of their not so pleasant to-do list. Both told me a few weeks later that by starting the day with something they love (one is passionate about protecting our environment and the other about writing children’s books), they’ve changed their outlook on how they face their day. Resentment has taken a backseat to happiness. The spark is back.
I’m taking my own advice while I’m on our family vacation for the next couple of weeks; I’ll be adding a half-hour of fiction writing to my daily routine. Why not join me? Remember what it is that ignites your passion, and give it just a few minutes a day. Let me know if you see a difference!
P.S. Even though I’ll be away from my desk for the next two weeks, you can still receive your weekly Sanity-Saving Tips when you download my free eBook!
Tell me, what is your soul’s purpose? What do you think of adding to your to-do list. Are you regularly indulging in your passion?
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