Project Vision 12/2012 - Step Two: Discovering Your Passions & Setting Your Goals

by Tina
Look for my Project Vision 12/2012 posts every Monday.

Now that you have your home organized and decluttered (ahem, right?) your mind should feel freer and uncluttered.  Only then can you begin to even think with crystal clarity.  If the things around you are cluttered you will not be able to concentrate on what's important.   Check out what my friend K writes about in her One Word Project.

Discovering Your Passion(s)

Here are some questions that  helped me get started discovering my passion(s):

• What words do you imagine people use to describe you?
• How would you like your friends to describe you 1, 5 and 10 years from now?
• What things do you love to do that make you lose track of time?  
• What things come naturally to you? 
• Reflect back on something you loved doing when you were a child.  
• Did you stop doing it because you thought you couldn't get a job with that skill?
• Even if you don't like your job now, is there anything at all that you do like about it, or even love about it?
• What would be your ideal job?
• If you did not have to worry about money - what would you be doing for the pure joy and love of it?

My words for the past few years have been writer and photographer.  These are my two passions that I can see doing forever.  I never tire of them.  There's always a new challenge with both of them.  Both of these passions were dormant while I worked for over 2 decades in high tech and forgot about what I really loved doing.  Both of these were things I loved doing since high school.  Somehow they got swept under the rug of life and lay dormant for years.  Some people may never rediscovered a past passion.  Don't let that happen to you!

Setting Your Goals
Last week my first major step was getting organized.  With 3 kids, 2 dogs and a husband who spreads his things throughout the house, it can be quite a mess.  But I embrace knowing that where there's clutter there's family and life.  But you have to have a little bit of organization to keep sane.

Take a moment to carve out an hour in your week where you can list all of the things you want to accomplish this year.  Don't have any inhibitions and just list all of the things that interest, inspire, excite, thrill and amaze you.  It's just a list.   You have to begin somewhere.  Here my OUT LOUD declaration of goals for 2012:

• Photography - continue with my second Project 365+1.  Make a concerted effort to seek images that reflect who I am and what I love.  Images with interest, with a story, with heart.   Enter some photography contests or have one professional published.  Seek out a professional photographer-mentor who can challenge me to grow and improve my craft.
• Write - last year I started getting paid for my freelance writing.  Mid-way through the year I nearly stopped writing to help care for my amazing big brother when he became terminally ill.  This year I'm going to resume my writing and stick to a regular writing schedule.  I'm going to keep track of ideas and inspiration.  I want to think about potential book ideas (this is a 5 year goal).  I love writing movie reviews so my goal is to write more of those.
• Exercise - I hate to exercise.  But this year I bought a jump rope and have been jumping (jumping to conclusions, as my husband likes to say) regularly.  I like that it is portable and I can take it wherever I am.  Or I don't have to leave the house.  It helps me warm up on cold days.  My goal is to jump for 20 minutes every other day.  So far I'm up to 10 minutes every other day.  Hey, it's a start.  Plus I want to take a yoga class.
• Cooking - I am going to learn a new recipe each month from my friend's food blog, Jeanette's Healthy Living.  I'll do this with my youngest daughter who has a passion for cooking and I want to encourage that skill.
• Travel - review my bucket list and keep checking places off that list.  I need to start planning my family's Spring and Summer vacations.

What's YOUR passion?  What goals have you set for this year and beyond?

Check out these worthwhile references:
Find Your Passion (PDF File) - print it out and use this worksheet
Finding Your Passion from Oprah


Project Vision Posts:
Step 10: Achieving your Dreams
Step 9: Take Risks
Step 8: Seek a Mentor
Step 7: Take a Class
Step 6: Listen to your Heart
Step 5: Gratitude Attitude
Step 4: Creative Workflow
Step 3: Prioritizing Lists
Step 2: Discovering your Passion and Setting Goals
Step 1: Getting Organized and Decluttered