I’m not religious, but it’s Sunday and I have an inbuilt desire to relax and do nothing, so this will be short!
My partner Asher, myself and about eleven others have embarked on a 120 Day Do What You Love Challenge – do something that you love every day. I’m writing, others are dancing, drawing, breathing (!), painting, and Asher is doing head stands (he’s up to three minutes now).
Yesterday after I wrestled myself to complete my article “It’s Never Too Late”, I was gripped by the most dismal mood. I slouched round the house wondering “what on earth is the point of all of this?“.
It’s a stupid question, straight out of my limited self. The little me can’t see any rewards for doing what I love – I’m not earning, I’m not getting praised (I just shoot the words out into cyberspace), it’s not leading to anything, so what’s the freakin’ point?
Who has the power?
You can bet your bottom dollar that anytime you hear that kind of question in your consciousness, that your limited self has the power. It wants to KNOW: where am I going, what’s it for, what will I get out of it? From that space, you, me and everyone else will dismiss what we love as pointless, because all those answers are unknowns.
So what’s the point then?
How about we forget that question. When you do what you love, you are sending your infinite creative being a strong message about what truly matters to you. You are investing your creative energy in expressing your true nature in the world. When you do this, you serve everyone, including (and especially) yourself, no matter what you may think or feel about it at the time.
It’s like making deposits in a long-term investment account, except that it’s vastly more enjoyable in the moment and leads to treasures that cannot be quantified or projected. Your mind knows only what it has experienced (and read about). From your limited self, you cannot conceive of the riches that await you when you do what you love.
The rewards are unimaginable
I had the strongest sensation as I was writing yesterday that I was doing it for a particular reader. She was strongly in my consciousness as I wrote, but I had no idea why. Today I received an email from that reader that included “Hey Pollyanna, just wanted to message you to say how much I needed today’s post (the creative tension one) – how is it that often what you need just arrives like that?“
It touched my heart and warmed the cockles of my soul.
I am writing because I love to write. In the moment, I disappear into my task, I’m connected to a greater source than the little me that wonders what the point is. Afterward, I feel generally satisfied, I’m more focused, I have more to give to my family, I notice nature AND I’m clearer about what I would love to do with the rest of my time. There’s more of what I love in every day that I let myself do what I love, and it’s effortless.
In addition to ALL OF THAT (which is plenty), in doing what I love, I touched someone else. That makes me happy.
What do you get when you do what you love?
MORE OF WHAT YOU LOVE! What more could you possibly want?
Btw – we’d love you to join us in the 120 Day Do What You Love Challenge, it’s free and it’s an adventure.
© 2011 Pollyanna Darling
So True Pollyanna,
It is like a bank account where you deposit love into instead of money, I found that
it actually energizes me, and gives an exciting lift to the day.
Thankyou for asking me to be part of it.
Margaret
This is amazing. I’ve often felt this same way throughout my training and blogging. Why am I writing, when I am the only one who cares about this? But in the end, I find that looking back over my past training and articles, I find this miraculous transformation. Clarity and direction are very substantial products of this commitment to myself.
Thanks for this challenge. I am excited to do my sun salutations everyday for the next four months! My husband JE just committed to play his guitar everyday, too.
Hey Iris, so you decided to do sun salutations for your Challenge. That’s great. If you get JE to sign up officially and you both friend me on Facebook, I can give you access to the Facebook Challenge group where you can share what you’re learning, how you’re going etc. It’s very supportive. Congrats on taking the plunge and thanks for your feedback. x