Why You Can't Live Another Moment Without Your Passions?
Passions. They light us up and become the fuel for our lives. A recent Facebook post of mine got a lot of attention because it was all about our passions. In 2011, I followed my passions and co-founded Hot Pink YOUniversity. I wanted a place for women to gather in person and virtually to give permission for PASSION. Women do not feel that they have the right to have passions, spend time on them and make them a priority. Finding work and life balance is often hard.
What are Passions?
There are so many varieties to what can be passions.
Relationships
Finding and being with a partner who lights us up, makes us our best versions of who we are. A person beyond the utilitarian needs of a roommate or companion, but also a soulmate. Now, more than at any point in time in our history, there are a lot of expectations and realizations of what partnerships can look like. Settling, less than and complacency are really things of the past with regard to relationships. Staying plugged in to one another on a deep level is passion for many women.
Career and Job
What if you could make money, doing what you love and still have balance in life? It’s possible now more than ever. Women are starting their own thing at a higher rate than ever and finding a rewarding place and space in the workplace. Women are transforming work place cultures to create balance between what they do to make money and personal demands. It is possible to make money and do it in a way that feels fulfilling.
Personal Development
Write that poetry, take that cooking class, snorkel to that reef. New adventures or igniting old ones keeps our brains vibrant and in good health. These activities create new neural pathways and bring joy into our daily lives.
Friendships
Social connections are so important to overall health and well-being. Technology keeps us connected and we need to do the work in person to keep things alive. Our passions can be woven into and integrated into our connections with others.
One of my greatest passions, what lights me up and recharges my battery is driving on a sunny day with the top panels off of my jeep. It is so simple. Yet, profoundly fun. I take care of my passion by allocating money to repair my car and prioritizing time to take the long way home. I always have my hat on hand in case the mood strikes to just go. That’s what passion is for me.
Make a list of things that light you up. What recharges you? Brings you ease, bliss, joy…
What are things from your childhood that made time fly and brought you happiness?
On a scale of 1-10, 1 = stressful, 10 = maximum bliss, how are the following areas in your life?
Relationships
Job or Career
Time for self and pleasure
Friendships and Connections
What would be one incremental change to each of these to increase whatever number you gave these areas by one. A 2 moves to a 3, a 5 to a 6…
These are questions that help support our connections to our passions. Look at your calendar right now. Over the next week do you have any time to carve out for one of your passions? If not, can you?
If you are a to-do list kind of person, I am, then reevaluate your to-do list creation and over the next week, make your passions a priority on that list.
Some of my passions:
Art and creativity
Writing
Flirting
Meaningful relationships and connections and conversations
Travel
Work that fulfills me and does not feel like work, that allows me freedom of movement and ability to do work from anywhere in the world. (YES, this is possible)
The side effects of not living your passions:
depression
anxiety
substance use
avoidance behavior
worry and fear
autopilot
numbing
overshopping and overspending
When we are unplugged from our passions, we are plugged into other things. We live our lives with less the a full experience. As women, we often place the burden of our happiness on external sources: our kids, partners, coworkers and others. We pour ourselves into them, not us, and when they are not working out or are stressful, we use all of the above to cope and to deal with feelings of sadness, disconnect and fear.
Some Key Factors About Passions
1. You have to actually know what they are in the first place.
2. You have to believe you deserve them, that you are worthy of the time, the money and the energy invested in them.
3. They are not always going to meet everyone's approval.
4. Passions are not selfish, but self-care, they fill YOUR cup up, not everyone else's cup. For women, this can sometimes be hard. To put self first.
5. They sometimes require you to write a new story about who you are and your past.
6. They require you to stand up for them. Sometimes strongly.
7. It sometimes looks easier to follow a path without passions. To remain just FINE.
8. They push you to find your voice and use it.
9. You may lose some "friends" along the way.
10. It can feel lonely.
So why do I coach women to find their passions at all?
Passions light you up.
They make you feel alive.
They create all the feels. The highs. The lows. And, everything in between...the true life experience.
Passions are your life force, your energy.
Passions are what drives you to get up in the morning, to do it all over again, the persist even if their are obstacles.
Following your path to passions results in feelings of intense joy, pride and confidence.
Yes. And More Please. ~Hot Pink YOUniversity
Hop on a 30 minute personal planning session and let’s reignite some lost passions and find some new ones together.
Christie Gause-Bemis is Founder and CEO of Hot Pink YOUniversity. She travels the world while living her passions. Psychotherapist, artist, blogger, Christie mentors women to find their passions and more. Her newest endeavor, 12 weeks to Ignite Your Passions uses a combination of psychology, neuroscience and life experiences to support women in their next best step to living a life she desires now!