Pursuing passion is invaluable for living a fulfilled life. This time of year is always a little nostalgic for me. Years ago, in another life, I would spend much of my time and energy training for pro-cheer auditions for my local NFL team. I would adopt a rigorous fitness and dance schedule as well as eat super clean including juicing. Besides the stress and insecurities of competing and achieving the ideal body size and fitness level, I found I felt amazing.
Having a fun goal to work towards with a very specific deadline caused me to create and maintain a routine. You may be thinking, how boring, however, it was actually quite fun.
Dancing has been a passion of mine since I was in second grade and being a pro-dancer was a dream of mine since high school. However, over the years I got distracted and disenchanted and found myself going down another path.
In my mid-late 20s, I revisited that dream and found that setting that goal and working towards it every day became a journey full of love, fun, passion, excitement, dedication, early mornings, and early bedtimes. The challenge was exciting; I was meeting new people, trying new things, and getting healthier and stronger than I had ever been.
I felt amazing about my accomplishment; I was sleeping great, and really proud of the dedication I was maintaining. Along the way, I had to push myself to stick to my fitness schedule and get out of my comfort zone by taking new dance classes. I had to pull back on eating out and drinking, but that was a small compromise considering how much this meant to me.
I was fairly unaware of the progress I was making until my audition coach showed me before and after images which shocked me. My hairstylist even commented on how fast my hair was growing for all the clean eating and juicing I was doing.
Looking back on these memories I can’t help but be proud of myself for going for my dream and the dedication I had to see it through. It can be hard to stay committed to something, especially if the passion isn’t there.
Finding things that inspire you and light you up and taking steps towards them is essential for living a happy fulfilled and fun life. When we are lacking in this, life can feel dull, routine and empty – as if it’s passing us by.
Think back on a time in your life where you stretched yourself towards something that you were passionate about. What did you love so much about it? What did it bring out in you? How did it make you feel? While some passions and dreams may be in the past, what new things could you engage in that could reignite those feelings in you?
Life isn’t just about work, chores, responsibilities and obligations. It’s about play and joy and fun and adventure. Is it time to rediscover your passions and do something fun just for you?
In passionate pursuit,
Erika
