Spending Time on Things I Like…

Spending time on things I like is NOT a waste of time.  Yes, it is in my personal commandments and needs a place of honor there actually!  I need this full sentence written out so that I can remind myself constantly of this fact.  How often do I put off doing things I like because some other need is out there.  In my world I can make these “other needs” seem demanding, critical and something that needs me RIGHT NOW.  What about the stuff that I want to do?  Shouldn’t those things get full attention?  Is that selfish?

The opposite actually is true.  Selfish is being so self absorbed that you start to believe that other people’s things cannot be complete without your intervention or input.  How many times do we invoke ourselves where we shouldn’t be?  Perhaps if I concentrate on the things I really want to do I can better weigh out what I really should be doing.  Sometimes those things will be for others, sometimes they will be just for me but at least they will be measured by reality rather than some elevated ego driven thing that tells me “I must do it all or nothing will get done.”   When I really think about it I can see how absurd that thinking is.

Spending time on things I like gives me clarity on my life purpose, it causes me to have a positive attitude and outlook, it helps me really get into the flow of my own life and what my gifts and talents are.  That makes not only a great use of time, but a NECESSARY use of time. What do you spend time on that is for you?

Be Debbie; Be Me

The personal commandment that I have listed first is “Be Debbie”.   I cannot take credit for coming up with this commandment; I got the idea from Gretchen Rubin and” The Happiness Project”.  I love this book and website alot.  And although each person needs to discover their own commandments I love the idea of being true to oneself as an important commandment.  I will admit however when I read this book the first time, a couple of years ago, I did not have a concept of really “being Debbie”.  BUT I did feel it was a concept that I needed to embrace, hence it made the “list.”

Over the last couple of weeks I have been faced with a few things that have really made me look at this commandment and ask myself “if I am just Debbie right now, what is the right thing to do?”.  I get caught up in other people’s “stuff”, I sometimes give way too much on the things that I am committed to (like work and tasks) and so, so often do not give enough time and energy to my passions.  So I found myself asking myself “if this situation that I am in is NOT my passion then why am I acting as if it is in all of my actions?”.  Great question to confront yourself with!  The follow up question then is “what is my passion and what does “being Debbie” mean?”

Passions and Dreams:

• Anything food!
• Cooking
• Dog treat biz
• Fresh food from the CSA
• Cooking for others
• Gardening
• Having a restaurant or a bed and breakfast
• Cookbooks
• Magazines with food
• Baking treats for our business
• Dreaming of commercial kitchen for the treats
• ETC…………….

Do you see any common threads?  I do!  I love anything having to do with food and I am definitely an entrepreneur. First paradigm shift then is– my day job is going to be just that–my day job.  I will do it really well and add value to those around me.  I will make money while doing it. BUT I will not act as if it is my passion and think non stop about it, work odd hours and feel guilty for taking a break.

Second paradigm shift–start acting as if my passion really is my passion and it is more than OK to expend energy here!  IT is MORE than OK as a matter of fact.  To “Be Debbie” I MUST shift my energy to this!

Action-I enrolled in culinary school! AND I spent lots of time this week acting and dreaming and living my passion out.

Result: I feel energized, happy and focused.

How about you?  Have you ever realized that where you are putting your energy is simply sucking the energy OUT OF YOU rather than invigorating you?  What did you do to shift the flow?