It’s Okay to be Multi-Passionate

One morning, on a particularly busy work day, my boss stopped me in the hallway for a quick chat. I can’t remember what it was about anymore, but I do remember she made a reference to Piglet and my eyes immediately burst with tears. Oh gosh, why am I so weird? Only two nights before I had watched Christopher Robin and Unicorn Store back to back and, well…her innocent Piglet reference was just enough to undo me once again.

A coach is never supposed to tell people what to do, but this time I’m making an exception. If you haven’t seen either film yet, you should. But learn from my mistakes and definitely don’t watch them both in one night. You see, both stories have a pretty similar plot about how grown ups do in fact, grow up, leaving behind their whimsical imaginations and playful freedom in exchange for deadlines, drab pantsuits, and mundane versions of who they once were.

I’ve never worn a pantsuit, but I do know what it feels like to wake up one day and realize the life you’re leading doesn’t look at all like you envisioned.

When you ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, they honestly & innocently answer no less than 7 occupations that have seemingly nothing in common—firmly believing they will do it all.

So what happens? Where do we hear the lie telling us we have to choose, we have focus and narrow down our dreams and passions to one. Maybe 2 if you’re crazy. Slowly our definitions of success morph and we start pursuing things we never thought would matter. And hear me out, I understand as we grow we’re supposed to change and value different things. I whole heartedly believe life events change us and should. But I also have seen a lot of times we start to play smaller, safer, more reserved to fit in the lines society has drawn for us—instead of creating our own. Maybe it is realism or maybe it is limiting beliefs that have been passed down to us. Slowly, surely, we began to put ourselves in a box. We find out it is comfortable in there and start to fear ever leaving it—ignoring the fact that we don’t actually fit.

In coaching sessions, I often hear women say “There are so many options out there and I find myself getting excited about a lot of different choices, so I just need help focusing and to pick one thing.” Or “I need more motivation because I have trouble doing what I’m supposed to do.” Or “If it were up to me, I’d do this, but I should really just put my energy in this instead.”

All of these women are summarizing a larger truth: we don’t fit in the box.

We don’t fit in a box because we’ve been created for more. Each of us has multiple passions, a unique set of strengths and weaknesses, philosophies on life, and multiple efforts we believe. Not to mention we are influenced by different seasons and relationships and vocational opportunities and locations. Finally, we are starting to realize that we can have it all. Furthermore, it is up to you. Yes, we can be a responsible adult being who pays taxes and also someone who is fun, creative, and whimsical because it’s on your own terms.

The question then becomes how? Because living a life of “yes, and” doesn’t fit within the structures and frameworks we’ve been taught. It doesn’t lend itself to line up neatly in a day planner.

Which leads me back to Pooh.

As an adult, Christopher Robin turns out to be a real tool, and Pooh’s mission is to help him remember how to let it all go.

Pooh and his friends put in massive effort to help Christopher Robin put the responsibilities down and pick up some creativity once more. They remind him that he is bigger than the role he holds in the now, he’s the full embodiment of who he is and who he’s been.

One of the movie’s reoccurring quotes is: “Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.” – Pooh

The idea is that when we rest our brains, we grant ourselves space to explore new places, people, and ideas. It also gives us time to remember and to realign. Resulting in us becoming more than we could have gained in the hustle.

Bringing Pooh into reality: I had a wicked smart professor once who would go see whatever animated kids movie was in theaters whenever he had writer’s block. The idea behind this was that when he let his brain relax and focus on an entirely different world and scenario, he would find the answer to his own problem & the creativity would flow once more.

Artists and poets and creatives seem to inherently understand this too. So they study seemingly unrelated subjects searching for a stroke of genius and inspiration, which often leads to masterpieces they could not have created on their own.

Following this thread, maybe, just maybe, we need a mindset shift for how we use our energy and time. We need to get clear on our goals, of course, but we also need to leave room for some fun, creative goals too. Maybe these goals have absolutely nothing to do with your career or responsibilities. If that’s difficult, ask yourself why? Dig deeper; honesty will help you determine what’s valid from what is a limiting belief.

Additionally, we need to ask ourselves honestly, what’s missing? Does our current life align with what we’ve always imagined we’d become? (I’m not saying are you living into your kid dreams of being an underwater astronaut who rescues kittens. But what are the underlying characteristics you still want your life to incorporate of those dreams? Do you still make time to play in the water? Where are you seeking exploration of the unknown? Have you made space to adopt a pet or play a vital role in helping out the less fortunate?) When you look at your life—how you’re spending your time, money, and energy—can you see what you’re for/ what you believe in?

So back to the main question, how do we do this? Around here we talk a lot about crafting intentional rhythms that align with who we are. Notice I said rhythms and not schedules. Instead of sticking to a strict schedule each day, we establish rhythms—the steady beats that flow throughout our days helping us become more, rather than do more. We listen to our bodies and our moods and our hearts. We plan time to rest and play. We embrace spontaneity and interruptions and hard work, knowing that one flows from the other. And we can relax, knowing that aligning ourselves with our “live with a mission” statement in the day to day keeps us pursuing our goals, even if we get distracted by sparkly ideas along the way. For we know in each season of life, our attention will be drawn to different things and that’s okay because that’s how we grow. So instead of boxing ourselves in and resisting change, we allow ourselves to be open and see how our mission is constant while fitting within a variety of settings.

For each of us, cultivating intentional rhythms within our weeks looks different, so I can’t give you a formula to follow. Though it’d be much easier if I could! Instead, I’ve found coaching to be the answer because it helps sort through the limiting beliefs & identify your true desires and identify. So if you’re wondering how to implement new rhythms that match your beat or are wanting to determine your own “live with a mission” statement, I’d encourage you to sign up for a totally complimentary, commitment free discovery call to find out more about how coaching can help you answer these questions.