What did you want to do when you were little? And are you doing that now? Probably not. Most of us end up doing something completely different than what we dream of. It doesn’t mean that what we dreamt of as children is what we should be doing, necessarily. What it means is that we should take our dreams seriously. We should do something that feels meaningful to us. We should fulfill our desires, instead of just wasting our lives doing something meaningless. When we start to value ourselves and our time, we start to do different things.
For many years – 20 years on and off, to be exact – I was a teacher. I still love teaching and will probably always do, because I love watching people grow in their own eyes, but I don’t love working as a teacher within the school system, because it means I have to do a lot of things I really dislike. For example, I have to force pupils to learn things they’re not interested in, just because it says so in the curriculum. And I have to grade children, meaning I have to judge them. That is almost diabolic to me, to tell a child “You’re not good enough!”. That might scar them for life.
For many of those 20 years I tried to get out of teaching. Even my body tried to get me out of teaching… I ended up burnt out several times. But for some reason it still wasn’t unthinkable to me to go back. And as long as we can put up with something, we will. We have to get to that point when it’s no longer negotiable. When there is only one option – to quit.
Eventually it became unbearable. It became unbearable to be a part of something I disliked with my whole being. It became unbearable to not do the things that make me feel alive and happy. It became unbearable to waste even another minute not doing what I love.
Do you know what that is for you? Do you know what you would be doing even if you weren’t getting paid for it? If you didn’t need the money? Do you know what lights you up, and makes you just want to do more of it and not go to bed? Do you know what puts you into flow? That feels like play even though it’s work? What is easy to you, but complicated to other people? It might even be something you’re not aware of, because it seems so simple to you!
Grab a pen & paper and start writing the answers to the questions above! Draw a picture of yourself doing that thing and how happy you look when you’re doing it and put it on your desk. Remind yourself daily of what you are passionate about, and find time to do it – even if it’s just 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes might change your whole world.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
This is so beautiful Sara! And so true! When we do what we love, we glow and shine from inside! And all parts of our life and being improve, because we are already happy (doing what we love) 🙂
Loved reading this! Thank you!
Thanks, Iryna! So happy you enjoyed the post!
Really god post 🙂 I have written down some things now. Sharing this here. When I was little I had a fantasy world. I played in the water, I could stay in there for hours and play dolphin. My family even cold me a dolphin, and of course I wanted to be a dolphin trainer when I got big. I also wanted to become a florist, I loved to pick flowers. I could pick flowers every day and give away to my neighbor Göte. My mom was owervelmed with flowers every week. One day I came up with the idea to give flowers to the icecream car to get some free icecream. It went good and I got some icecream for me and my sister. My first affair. 😀 I loved to be out in nature. I could play with all kinds off stuff. I also loved to paint and play with dolls, I could play for hours, I did not want to go to bed. When I was in fourth grade I stopped playing, not because I wanted to but more that I felt I needed to. It was not cool to play with dolls anymore. I loved dresses and to paint dresses. When I went to kindergarden my mum had some difficult in the wintertime, because I always wanted to have dresses. If I did not need money I would grow my own flower paradise and enjoy flowers and arrange them. I would live near the sea so I could swim. I would live in a house on the countryside so I could spend my days out exploring nature. I would learn to play more music and join a choir. I love to sing and play. I love being creative. I would do many creative stuff. I would cook food, and learn new recipies. I would jump on my own trampoline, smell my roses, play with my friends and laugh alot. Some time I would love to swim with dolphins that are free. I would get animals and train them. I would grow my own food and have my own eggs. I would live on a farm 🙂 <3 This all feels like play to me
Thanks for your comment, Linnéa! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, and those are such lovely memories you have from your childhood. I think that a lot of the things you dream of doing, you could actually do now! You could join a choir, learn to play a new instrument and try out lost of exciting recipes regardless of your financial situation. I love the lightness & playfulness of all that you shared!
It’s so true Sara Aurora Waters. I been I the same situation, as you know. And it makes me so sad that we have to be sick before we listen to our self. I can relate to every word you written
Thanks, Linda! Yes, when we insist on not listening to our higher self, the body has to show us in a way we can’t ignore that what we’re doing is hurting us. But as long as we use that as a wake-up call, I think it’s great, because it means that we get to spend the rest of our lives being true to ourselves!
Love this Sara. I feel it all! If I didn’t need money I would travel with my sons, learn languages and write. I would spend most of my time travelling by the sea and near mountains. We would swim and boat in the sea and lakes every day, trying new foods and learning about new cultures in the countries we visited. For now, I can make sure I add learning languages and writing into my days Just thinking that puts a smile in my heart Thank you.
Thank you Sara, for your comment! Yes, I think you’re onto something really important – how do we find ways to do the things we love NOW? We can always find excuses to postpone our dream life and find things to blame, like lack of money, lack of time and so on. But it takes a lot more to look for the opportunities here and now. The trick is to change our perspective from “All or nothing at all” to “5 minutes is better than nothing”. Every day there is at least 5 minutes to spend on something you enjoy!
Wien I was a child I wanted to be a veterinarian. But after just doing math for a few years I new that was not for me. My other dream was to become a librarian and I really can’t remember why I didn’t pursue that. I still love both animals and books. Now I have lost what I love to do, I can’t see it clearly just glimpses now and then…
Thanks for your comment, Christin! It’s so sad, how school affects us… And I think it can get very hard to find your joy again, once you have pushed it down for too long. You need to become an explorer and try out different things and see if they bring you joy. Every week try something new, and after a year will have tried 52 different things! Often it’s enough to just do something new, because our brains enjoy learning new things. To join Meet-up is a great way to both find new hobbies and new friends!