Designing a Passionate Life

Watching Our Parents Grow Older

Designing and a passionate life creates life balance and deepens family connections. I recently saw an online journal that touched me so deeply that I want to share it with you at the end of this post. It is the story of a young man's journey through the later years of his father's life. It probably touched me very deeply because my father died 2 years ago and I remember my journey with him in his last few years.

What Happens When You Live Your Passions?

Designing a passionate life creates life balance and an overflowing life. When you follow your passions, the rest of your life blooms and unfolds in ways you could never imagine. It isn't always easy, but it is much more fun, than living a passionless and boring life. I like to watch the show on the Food Network called "Chefography" because the stories about the chefs on the Food Network are fascinating. If you want to be inspired to live your passions, watch this show.

What Would Love Do?

Designing a passionate life and creating life balance includes love. We all have our definition of love. When I sat down and started to think about it, I noticed that I had quite a range of thoughts about how to define love. The word "love" can be used in a very casual way, such as "I love to eat chocolate" to the love we feel for our partner and family members, and the final type of love that I see is "spiritual love". This broad range of usage and understanding by people makes love hard to define and sometimes grasp the feeling of love.

The Movie - Julie and Julia

Living passionately is what this movie is all about. I recently saw the movie called Julie and Julia and I found it funny, charming, and at times sad. It's all about living life and following your passions. It is a true story based on the lives of Julie Powell and Julia Child. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but as I watched the movie, a few things became apparent to me. Both women were following their passions with extreme focus and action.

What You Can Learn From People Who Bug You

Designing a passionate life and creating life balance for work and family means that life is going to present you with people who "bug" you. It is a natural part of life and there seems to be a never ending supply of these people. They show up on the highways, in the news, in the work place, where you go to church, your neighborhood, your friends, your spouse, and your family members. Let's face it, if you are going to interact with people, you will run into people who "bug" you.

Who Do You Admire and Why?

Designing a passionate lie and creating life balance may include admiring different people in your life. You are probably wondering what this has to do with living a passionate life. It has a lot to do with it because the people you admire probably are or did live a passionate life and that is one of the reasons you admire them. I'd like to walk you through an exercise about the people you admire and all will be revealed.

Get out a piece of paper, yes, right now and write down the names of five people whom you really admire. Don't think, just write down the first five names that come into your mind. If you are continuing to read, I assume you have your list of names.

How to Break Through Your Resistance

Designing a passionate life and creating life balance may include some internal resistance along the way. Sometimes you don't even know that you are experiencing it, but if you feel stuck, gripped by your emotions, or confused as to why you can't seem to make progress in your life, then you are experiencing internal resistance.

Internal resistance comes from your unconscious so it is very sneaky and very powerful. Because it is in your unconscious mind and operating as a program, it can be very difficult to break through that internal resistance. Working at the conscious mind level won't do it. So what do you do?

Listening to Your Body

Designing a passionate life and living in balance requires that you listen to the messages that your body sends you. It's important not only to pay attention to your head and heart but also to listen to the messages that your body sends you. The body stores memories from your brain at a cellular level throughout your body. If you listen to your body, you can learn many things about what you are holding onto. You can also gain clues as to what you need to release in order to continue to create a passionate life. Try the following practice and see what happens. It may take a few practice sessions to perfect the technique and to hear the messages from your body.

Overcoming Procrastination

Designing a passionate life will more than likely include times when you will procrastinate. So why do you procrastinate? Procrastination is a symptom of something bigger going on, which is that you are blocked by some unconscious loyalty to someone, belief, or thought that you believe is true. Because it is unconscious it is sometimes difficult to identify but not impossible.

Passion in Action

Designing a passionate life and life balance requires choice and commitment. I know two young women; I'll call the first one Sue and the second one Kate who are examples of living with passion. Both of them are in their twenties and are living their passions. I would like to talk about what I witnessed in each of these young women.