Achieving Balance In Life Through Passion And Purpose -- Terra Welllington's Balanced Living

Learn how to achieve balance in life through
passion and purpose.
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Originally Published January 13, 2003 -- Your Wellness Guide

Achieving Balance in Life Through Passion and Purpose

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It seems like the older you get the faster life goes, doesn’t it? I remember when I was 10 years old, each day seemed to pass slowly. On Monday, Friday was months away.

But, as each year comes and goes faster, it may give you all the more reason to pause and think what do you want from life? What kind of person are you becoming?

As you grow older, hopefully your New Year’s goals become more about priorities with a purpose and passion, not just adding more things to accomplish. There's only 24 hours in a day.

If you haven’t found your passion or purpose, knowing where you’re going is part of finding it. Dr. Debra Davenport, who consults as a career mentor, talked to me about finding one’s passion.

“Personally, I don’t know that we really experience life until we do find our passion. Discovering and living one’s passion awakens the senses, the intellect, and the spirit. And most importantly, it feeds the soul,” she says. She feels that complacent living is an epidemic, with many people feeling like they don’t have the power to find or live their passion.

We can find ourselves, says Davenport, by revisiting childhood passions and hobbies, and also taking a closer look at core values. She believes in a life mission for everyone.

For many, feeling and knowing that you're on a “mission” of sorts with the things you do can be comforting and motivating. And while sometimes our passions seem a little crazy at the start, they can blossom into beautiful flowers of joy and purpose for everyone.

Once you’ve identified a vision for yourself, there’s the challenge of moving forward – taking dreams and molding them into purposeful tasks.

Life Coach Allan Milham let me in on some simple steps to realize your dreams and fulfill a passion. He says you start with two questions, then chunk it down.

“First, ask yourself what would satisfy you in achieving your passion?” says Milham. “Then, ask yourself what would really delight you by March 31 (giving a date example)?”

Next, he says to list action items and due dates, chunking down what you want to attain into bite-size, achievable pieces.

Milham told me that most people frontload the year with all sorts of goals. Instead, he says to design goals for all throughout the year. “Less is more,” he says, adding that we should make things simple by choosing the one or two things that would have impact in our lives this year or this month.

Photo Courtesy: Wellington Media

Keep your New Year’s goals
simple with a purpose.

For example, let’s say you’ve always had a dream to be a famous opera singer but have never pursued it, even though you have a terrific voice. To make your dream a reality, yet manageable, you might say for this year you will take singing lessons once a week and audition six times during the year to gain experience. Each month you may evaluate your status, utilizing Milham’s two questions.

While some goals are meant to be kept private, many people find that sharing their goals with others makes them accountable and is another motivator to quit procrastinating.

If your friends and family know what you want to achieve, then they’ll likely ask you how you're coming along with your objectives the next time you see them. And, more than likely, you won’t want to say you haven’t done anything! Hopefully, though, they’ll also encourage you.

So, yes, life moves along faster and faster. But, live for today with the future in mind. Make your passions purposeful and your dreams a reality.

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