Whenever you are feeling too busy, or too stressed, or too… too.. Just remember that all you have to do is breathe. Sometimes we forget that simply stepping out of the moment to catch our breath can do wonders.
So today, just breathe.
When you spend over 2,000 hours each year working towards a singular goal you it helps when those hours are spent in an area, or role that you are passionate about. I’m very lucky that I’ve had the time and guidance that has helped me shape a career in a field a love but I know that there are plenty of people who have a job simply because it pays the bills.
I served as an Americorps VISTA in 2008 and at the end of my year of service one of the benefits of civil service was the offer to receive career counseling as I transitioned into a full time career. I was lucky that my year of service happened to guide me directly into what I still do today – from fundraising to marketing – and a large part of that decision was found after reading through What Color is Your Parachute as part of the career sessions I received.
As a manual for job hunting WCIYP & their online website eParachute is amazing – I used it when I took my first job out of college and was set on a path that I couldn’t be happier with – But finding the color of your parachute is about so much more than getting into a job that you can tolerate.
We all need to eat and pay the bills, but when you take a step back and evaluate your happiness you should ask yourself what is it that you need to do to build a path that resonates with who you are and what you want to present to the world. With the ever evolving blur that mixes our personal lives with the face we present at the office, finding a passion (or a parachute) that you can rely on in all your roles is even more important.
Some of the exercises from the now 43 year old guidebook can be applied to day-to-day life to help answer what ever it might be that you are most passionate about. – in particular there is a story writing exercise that I really enjoyed (surprise since I like to write).
Start out by writing several brief stories about a real experience that includes the following:
Once you’ve completed writing the stories, analyze them for transferrable skills (instructed, motivated, created, prioritized, problem solved, etc). Skills that appear time and time again are most likely in alignment with the items you are most passionate about. When I completed this exercise I noted that communication and taking initiative were items that I strongly identified with. From this I’ve come to learn that to be happy, both at work and at home, I need to be able to assertive and take on new projects – like this blog.
If you are looking for a resource for helping identify more of your passions I’d definitely recommend taking a look at the 2016 edition of WCIYP. It really helped me when I needed it the most and I find it fascinating that nearly ten years later I continue to relate and use the lessons I learned.
What other ways have you worked towards learning about your traits and what your passions are. Are there any other books you’d recommend like this one? Leave a note in the comments and let me know if you’ve had a similar experience!
With just a few days under your belt into the New Year there is still time to get in the mindset for setting goals and starting the year off with a new mindset. Often resolutions are focused on losing things [stress, weight, bad eating habits] – resulting in only 8% of all resolutions being achieved at the end of the year.
There are plenty of reasons resolutions are rarely achieved, but I want to make 2016 a year of gaining, and I challenge you to think about your resolutions (or if you don’t ‘resolve’ your goals) from a new perspective.
I am terrible at making time to focus on myself, including just taking a breather to kick back and watch tv. In 2016 I want work towards making more time that I can read and relax. I want to drink more water, eat a good breakfast each morning, remember to take vitamins and occasionally make it to the gym or a yoga class.
Over the last couple of months I’ve been working on making better choices about my time, trying to not over schedule myself to the point where I don’t have time for things that need to be done (like grocery shopping and laundry). One of the ways that I’ve been doing this is thinking about how whenever I say no to something, what that means I’m saying yes to.
When I say no to a volunteer opportunity or signing up for committee that means that I am saying yes to having time and clarity to write, clean my kitchen, and maybe just take a few breaths over the weekend. With our schedules Drew and I try to spend all of our Saturday’s together and sometimes that means jamming 10 todos into what is really only a 6 todo possible timeframe. Since starting to think about the what I’m saying yes to when I don’t over plan our time on Saturdays I have felt a lot calmer and more focused. Over the next year I want to continue with that mindset and working on creating more downtime.
What are you resolving in 2016? Do you think it will help you to refocus your resolutions on what you are gaining when you achieve those goals?
Back when web 2.0 (aka the internet that is a platform for conversation and communication) was a baby, some super smart, super passionate and super motivated people got together and launched a writing challenge, NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo was a challenge asking writers to dedicate the month of November to writing a NOVEL over the course of a single month.
I’m certain the NaNoWriMo was around before the internet, and blogs, and all the things that make social media possible today, but the internet created accountability and a community supporting writers who wanted to participate.
The challenge itself has changed (for some, I’m sure there are still people still writing novels in the month of November) but the community building and accountability to the challenge has remained the same.
I’ve never participated before, but BlogHer has put together a handy list of writing prompts so I’ve decided this year to give NaBloPoMo an honest try. I can’t promise that I’ll write every day, but I will dedicate myself to posting something new each and every day.
Have you participated in writing challenges before? What tips do you have for making it through the month? Sound off in the comments and help me stay motivated all month long!
