BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Life Coaching How Are You Balancing Passion and Purpose?

I just had an experience where I had to make a decision to honour myself, by surrendering something I�ve really loved to do because I was honest enough to admit it was no longer working for me.

Some of you may have noticed I haven�t been around posting on Bella for a while. Actually, it�s been almost a month since I last posted on Bella. What happened? I was living out my passion and purpose, but my life got so hectic that the other things that are important to me started to slip away.

This past week, I decided to resign from the board of the pet rescue charity that I had helped to create. Although I�m an animal lover, it was getting to be a minimum of 2 to 4 hours a day in emailing alone, not including the actual meetings and helping the animals. This wasn�t good when I already had my own business that needed more time.

It was a huge leap for me to say �enough� to something I�m so passionate about. However, when I did so, I was able to really recognize that I HAD accomplished my purpose of getting an animal network established in our community. I�m still passionate about animals and there are different way to express it that honors my own needs too.

Now that I�ve adjusted to my initial sadness over my decision, I am so excited! I feel a new lease on life, because I have so many other things I am passionate about, including empowering women to lead amazing lives! I�ve been focusing on other exciting areas and re-creating balance in my life. I must say it feels so good!

I�ve learned once again that even passion and purpose require balancing in a way that is honoring to me. I�m not sacrificing what I love to do, I�m only shifting my desire to a different area.

I�m wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? I�d like to hear how you are balancing passion and purpose in your life.

In warm anticipation of your reply,

Tami

Congratulations on your decision to do whats best for you. I am still trying to get a handle on this balance. I haven't found my purpose, and although I have a passion I haven't taken any steps toward focusing my life in that direction. I hope I can get to the point your at soon. It's always important to put YOU first because everything you do will be that much better.

Thanks for the congratulations, Swishykid! It's nice to meet you here And I think you're right, we are far better at things when we take care of our own needs along the way.

By the way, I have found our purpose and passions are pretty much intertwined. In fact, our passions often POINT to our purpose.

What's this passion you have? I'd love to hear more about it. Sharing our dreams seem to take us a step closer in that direction because it opens us up to the possibility of it happening.

Hi Tami,

Isn't it wonderful to know that life is fluid and helps move us down our path?

I relate to your decision, as I've had to make several similar decisions in my life.

When your passion becomes an obligation, it's often a sign that it needs to change. Passion lifts you up, obligation / toleration drags you down. And many of us are raised to "stick with" something, so it's often difficult to say we've had enough and it's time to move on.

As far as my life- chose to leave a non-profit a few years ago. These days, I still support the organization, but have tons more free time and time for my other passion-based business ventures.

I have every faith that you'll find a balance, hon. You can still support the animals and promote the organization, but with not having the bigger obligation to it you'll find more resources in yourself. And your greater resources will offer you more to give back. It really will be a win-win.

"Before your cup can runneth over, you've got to fill your own cup!"

Sincerely,

Meg Meyer

Absolutely! Maybe when it starts to be a drain or strain, is an indication that we really don't have that much left to give.

I think this is a big problem for/with people, we give out but don't appreciate that we really need to fill up. Or else, eventually all that is coming out is scraped from the bottom of the barrel.

The problem is the fear of letting go. I just made a decision to move on. I knew it was right. I knew it would be good for me. But, the nagging doubt as to, if I was right, or fear of loosing what I have found/gained, (maybe things would somehow turn wonderful if I keep things just as they are) held me for a time before I set sail for new horizons.

Excellent points, you've made, Paula!

Hey BellaMeg, I think we get lost in ego's "identity."

In the book, The Fire And The Rose; Bud Harris suggests that the tension between desire and responsibility is a catalyst to grow through, and from which to evoke creativity, and positive outcomes. And, that, religion is about becoming, we are always becoming, and to stop becoming, is death.

I hear what you are saying about how people keep giving without recognizing that we have to keep filling up.

There was a time in my life that I just gave and gave. In my act of love towards others, I neglected to truly love myself. Eventually, it cost me dearly because I had drained all my reserves without knowing it. I got a terrible case of food poisoning where I almost died. It took me many years to recover because my body had nothing left to draw on.

I learned my lesson the hard way from that experience. Now, I'm constantly aware that I need to observe how I am balancing input and output. I'm the most satisfied I have ever been and my life keeps getting better!

In this last experience, it was just knowing it was time to move on because it wasn't fitting in to my life in a healthy way. I'm getting used to the positive results of challenging myself so I basically just went for it!

Yes, it takes courage to move on to new horizons. What helps me is to recognize that the fear is not life threatening. The fear is simply the discomfort of being in a new territory... which is exactly where I want to be. It's funny how some things shift by simply seeing them from a different perspective.

What did you do to bolster your courage when you recently tipped your own scales, MomsPaula?

Hi Meg,

Thanks for your warm words of encouragement. It's funny how different things can feel only a few weeks later.

It's hard to believe it was a difficult decision because I don't feel any of the pain of it now. I think it is because I have allowed my heart to run after other things I am really excited and passionate about.

Hmmm... it makes me wonder if passion and purpose also help to heal our hearts. I'll have to ponder that for a while. There may be an article on it's way! Yes, writing is one of my passions too!

I'm glad to hear you've had a similar experience, Meg. Perhaps there will be others who will be encouraged to make decisions to balance their lives in a way that allows room for what they are most passionate about too.