Breakfast this morning was a fun change.
I don’t have cereal too often because I find it doesn’t fill me up, but this morning I was just craving a bowl with tons of mouth-water toppings.
Sometimes only cereal will do!
Trail Mix Spelt Cereal
Ingredients:
- ~1.5 cup Nature’s Path Spelt Cereal
- 1/2 banana, sliced
- ~1/3 cup Power House Glonola
- Pinch of unsweetened coconut
- Almond milk
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
Even though I slightly over-cooked the Glonola, almond milk makes it all better. ;)
Soft and chewy and crispy and comforting.
How I found My Passion
[For my full A Year Can Change A Lot Series on Career Changes, See these posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10]
The other day I was asked what led me to discover my passion for the blogs and bakery.
I was asked, ‘How did you know that it was what you wanted to do?’
For the first 25 years of my life, I had no clue that this is what would make me happy.
Do you remember the Oprah episodes from years and years ago about finding a career that would make you happy?
Those shows were always inspiring yet anxiety provoking for me. I loved hearing about other women’s triumphs and how they went from working a horrible job to running their own business or going back to school to get a degree. I could watch story after story after story, but for some reason I would always walk away from it saying to myself, ‘I can’t do what they did.’
We are talking about an early strike-out here. I remember feeling these thoughts when I was just 15 or 16 years old. I just felt like I would never be able to find the means to follow my dreams like these other successful women did. Sure, I thought I could be happy if I had a well-paying career, but I never thought that I would be able to do something unconventional for a career.
Why did I defeat myself so early on in the game?
Because I simply didn’t know what my passions were!
If you don’t know what your passions are you surely can’t act on them.
For so long, my passion was my eating disorder and it took up all of my free time. I didn’t have many real hobbies. I played in sports for many years, but I obviously knew I wouldn’t be pitching for the Blue Jays any time soon. ;)
I started the blog on October 31, 2008 which was when I began my journey to health. I was looking for positivity in my life and I wanted to reach out to other women who were struggling with the same things that I was; not just about food and weight, but with all aspects of life.
My blog was my hobby and it brought me great joy, especially during a time when I was quite unhappy with my career. For the first little while I figured that I would be ok if I could keep this hobby on the side. It would keep me going and positive. It would be something I could look forward to when I got up in the morning and got home from work at night.
It kept me sane.
Little did I know that pursuing a hobby I enjoyed would be one of the best wake-up calls I have ever had. I felt alive when I wrote and connected with others, when I cooked in the kitchen, and when I explored photography.
For a while, I dismissed my feelings because I felt guilty about them and I didn’t want to admit that perhaps this was what I should be doing. What would people think if I told them? Surely they would laugh in my face and tell me to keep looking for a research job.
One morning I woke up and everything was clear.
I wanted to write. I wanted to open a bakery. I wanted to make healthy recipes. I wanted to help others.
And then I quit my unfulfilling career.
And damnit, I wanted to take a leap of faith for the first time in my life. I wanted to take a chance on ME.
Pursuing a hobby changed my life.
When I am asked how I discovered that this is what I wanted to do, I always thank my blog. It was the hobby that opened my eyes and helped me find my passions.
Passion finding tips:
1) If you have no clue what your passions are, pursue hobbies that you have always wanted to do and go from there. It will feel like you are going on a blind date and you may have to kiss a lot of frogs to find ones you love, but persist on.
2) Not sure what hobbies to pursue? Ask yourself what you enjoyed as a child and as a teenager for clues. Not all of them will be winners, but you will be on your way to finding them. Look at the hobbies you have now and ask if they are telling you clues about your happiness.
Do you currently have any hobbies? Why or why not? Do you know what your passions are in life and what makes you come alive? Do you think you can turn what you love into a career?
Angela I loved this post.
I enjoy reading about others who have pursued their passions, and to be honest, I don’t know what mine are. But, I am happy with my current job and I enjoy my life outside of work. It may not be my “passion”, but I am content. I enjoy reading, blogging, learning about personalities, psychology, how our minds work, etc. I hope to one day do something with those subjects — I’m not sure what, but I know that with the more I learn and the more I try the more clear it will become for me.
Right now I would say blogging, cooking, and running our my hobbies. I’m hoping post grad school to pick up photography as a hobby because it’s just one of those things I’ve always wanted to try.
Great post!
i love your blog. I found it a few weeks ago via ricki hellers dietdessertsanddogs! Great recipes and ideas!!
I am blessed to have found my passion in my mid 20’s. I am living, breathing and getting paid for my passion. I am a nutritionist! I teach people to eat well and live the best life possible! Amazing. Love my job!!!
I also started a blog and love it. I post recipes and health information. So much fun!
This subject hits close to home.. now. I have been batting this idea around lately.
I am happy with one of my two jobs. It’s not something I want to do for the rest of my life, but I like the people I work with and the pay isn’t too bad (if I could just get health care insurance, that’d be icing on the cake at this point.)
Without writing a full blog post in the comments :) I am waiting for my ‘ah ha’ moment of what I want to do / find my passion and then how to would proceed.
I am in the same boat as you. If you want to talk some more and bounce ideas off each other….feel free…..I need to get out of this boat and back onto dry land! Just reply to this comment and I can give you my email address!
Hey Ashley. Thanks for commenting back. If you want to shoot me over an email go for it – my email is [email protected]
Hope to hear from you soon!
I love hearing other peoples’ stories! It’s so inspirational!
I’m currently pursuing my passion and that is to help others discover and reach their own potential. I went back to school to finish up my psych degree with an emphasis on behaviour changing and motivation and plan to open my life coaching business at the end of June 2011. I always had interests growing up but never a real passion until my own life changes began. Discovering my own potential and the fact that I alone make my life the way I want it to made me want nothing more than to spread that knowledge and help people make their lives amazing.
We have no idea what we are capable of and it pains me to see people with obvious talents NOT working with them.
This was such a great post to read while eating breakfast! I, likewise, had a packed bowl of cereal with lots of healthy toppings. :)
Also, I tried Polly’s Yoga for Runners after my run this morning…. it felt great! I’ll be doing that on a daily basis from now on.
You are such an inspiration, as a reader from the early days of OSG its amazing to see how much you have grown and you serious GLOW now in your posts :) Congrats on finding your path!!!
your story is very inspiring! i’m hoping to pursue journalism/writing or do some kind of social work – I either want to expose issues people don’t read about enough or be directly involved in people’s lives.
I loved this post. I’m doing what I love but my husband is stuck wanting to strike out on his own and feeling the need for a steady paycheck. We both worry about the risk, but he’s so passionate about owning his own business. I’m e-mailing this to him!
I am still trying to find my passion. Is it healthy living? Is it shoes? Is it wedding planning? Is it accolades from my career as an engineer? Is it animals? Is it charity work? Right now I’m doing them all so I can eventually find what makes me happiest and devote more time to that.
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for this post. I’ve struggled with not being sure I’m in the right career for me a lot this past year – but it’s hard, since I’ve invested SO much time in schooling to get where I am. And now all I do is sit at a desk, when I’d much rather be interacting with people, and helping others in whatever way I can. I’m hoping one day I’ll either start loving my job, or that I will have the courage to try something new that falls more in line with my passions – helping people who are down on their luck, both in my “own backyard” and overseas, writing, reading, cooking, running/swimming/sports, my faith, and making things (crochet/knit/sew/craft). I guess I also have to believe that something that will make me happy and excited about “my work” is actually out there!
Finding my passion and a career I love is the story of my life right now!
Very inspiring post, thanks :-)
im a law student with a passion for human rights..and food! im in my last year of school, and although i haven’t figured out how quite yet – im hoping to somehow find a career that will allow me to combine my two loves. right now i have the dream, but im still waiting on the form. i dont want food to be that thing i do on the side – and im confident that i can find a way thanks to stories like yours. thanks so much!
Wow, what a great post! Thank you :)
I recently turned down law school because, after much soul-searching and stress, I’ve realized and accepted that law just isn’t “me”. Aside from my husband, much of my family thinks I’m crazy for passing up the opportunity, but I’ve gained so much more understanding about myself from this experience. My passion is still to help people, but at 27, I’ve discovered that I really want to study and practice naturopathic medicine. The road ahead is long because my background is in the social sciences, so I have a ton of prerequisite course work to complete first, but I’ve finally found the right fit and it’s totally worth it!
Thank you for being such an inspiration, Angela. Reading your story and watching you progress over the past year that I’ve been reading your blog has definitely helped me become more confident to take a chance on me!
I think it’s a really good point you brought up about how for many people their eating disorders are their hobbies for a good portion of their life. Finding your path back to health and taking care of oneself can take a good deal of time. Many people have to learn how to actually love themselves first and then they can expand and see what they are interested in doing. It’s difficult because it can be a long process for certain people. It takes time to un-do the damage and learn to love yourself. Thanks for posting that! :)
You read my mind exactly.
I was in the same situation as you, and found that blogging became the answer! I am able to enjoy and showcase my passions. I get to celebrate them rather than keep them to myself. I feel like starting a blog is the first step to pursuing my large goals, which like you,is to open a health foods bakery (but in Ottawa where the pickins are slim at this moment).
Thank you for this inspiring post! It has opened my eyes at the potential I have to reaching my dream as long as I stick to my hobbies :)
tears in my eyes girl, tears in my eyes. i’m at that point right now where i know what to do and know how to do it but can’t garner the courage to just take that leap of faith. my prayer is that someday soon I’ll be able to take hold of that and just jump!
Just jump! You are so lucky to know what you want to do! I am struggling very badly right now and I would be jumping every day if I knew what to jump to….just jump, you CAN do it!
Great post! I just realized that blogging is a passion of mine this past March, and I can’t imagine my life without it now. Although it’s not my job, I do consider it a part time job and certainly put a lot of hours into it. I was never really that big on writing in school, but I think part of the problem was that I was never able to write about anything I was actually interested in. Writing about food and fitness? Umm…. he-LLO! LOVE IT! Posts like this inspire me to keep finding my passions and pursuing them. Thanks! :)
i agree with this post 1000%! if i hadn’t allowed myself to explore my passions i never, never would have gotten to the job i’m in now that i really and truly enjoy. i floundered for a long time because i felt like i had too many different interests, but it turns out i just got to have a lot of wonderful life experiences while exploring them. the periods when i was most entrenched in disordered eating, i lost all those interests, and focusing on them was also really helpful in allowing me to recover – like i was rediscovering who i was and wanted to be. i totally agree that we need to indulge our hobbies, whether they seem practical or lucrative or not. you’re a shining example of this!
I recently went through three months of being unemployed while looking for that all important 1st job after college. For three months I was stressed out, anxious, angry, and occasionally depressed. My blog kept me going. I am just starting out, and I don’t have a great following, but just being able to write about the things I love – food, health, slow food, running, yoga, climbing, made all the difference in the world. Every time I got upset I’d recenter myself by writing a blog entry. It allowed me to keep my head clear and do what I needed to do to find a job.
I’d also like to say that reading your blog helped me SO MUCH during the past three months. All your positivity and words of inspiration helped me stay hopeful. I even used your smiling trick (the one where you said to make yourself smile, the act of curving your mouth upwards would help you feel better) a few times when I was feeling really desperate.
So I guess what I”m saying is thank you! I for one am incredibly glad that you started blogging and that you decided to follow what you were passionate about and make it your career.