Finding Time for Your Passions: Let the Process Bring You Pleasure!

Busy hours… busy days… busy weeks… Does it sometimes feel like you “blink” and a month has gone by?

As much as we love family and friends, find satisfaction in work, feel energized by fitness efforts, and delight in finding a few hours of sleep, we may also yearn to find time for our passions – the activities that enrich our lives and simply bring us pleasure. It may be horseback riding, travel, or sailing, gardening, yoga, writing poetry, or reading, it may be one, some, or all of these.

While everyone’s passions are their own, the feeling of “just rightness,” that comes from nurturing part of yourself that needs attention can touch a similar chord in each of us – a sense of “coming home.” Along with the obligations that fill your life – often joyful, on occasion less so – you can carve out time for your passions! Renewing yourself in this way enhances your sense of wellbeing – a gift not only to yourself but to everyone in your life!

Here are some mindful tips to help you pursue your passions:

#1 – If I Had More Time, I’d…

Sometimes you already know what you want to bring into your life to enhance it. If so, write your thoughts down and go to Tip #2!

If not, it’s time to discover/recover some things that will delight you! Write down any activity you remember from childhood to the present that has brought joy into your life. As you read and re-read this list, take a moment to breathe slowly and deeply, to center within. Be mindful of how your body reacts to each item. What excites you?

#2 – Create Potential for Your Passions…

Now make a list of all the actions you can take to bring your passions into your life. Start small, look for activities that can fit into small amounts of time, or be interrupted, as needed. Read a book. Explore online. While larger steps are wonderful, the baby steps will get you going. Be creative!

#3 – …Then Carve Out Time for Delight!

Armed with your list of actions (possibilities both small and large), look for “found moments” – and you’ll find them! Have a book ready for your carpool… spend a few minutes online during your train ride… Delight in the satisfaction of finding and using these opportunities!

#4 – In Sum… It’s All About “Process”!

Don’t get lost in goals so big that you find it daunting to fit them into your life. Start small. Be aware of opportunities that exist and then create some more! Building mindful momentum invites your passions into your life, to enrich your life right now! There’s no need to wait!

About the Author: After graduate school at Princeton University—Nina’s life changed when she discovered mindfulness meditation! Co-author of The Three Minute Meditator, Nina’s work has been seen in O, The Oprah magazine, Shape, Real Simple, Marie Claire, and Health magazine. In her work as Director of Mindfulness Programs at Mohonk Mountain House (www.mindfulnessatmohonk.com), a Victorian castle resort only 90 miles north of New York City, Nina leads programs and teaches private classes on mindfulness, weight loss, and wellness