Ask What Makes You Come Alive

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman

 Ask What Makes You Come Alive

After trying out a variety of careers over a twenty five year period, I finally began to do something that made my heart happy – writing. It makes me come alive. People often ask me, “Do you make money from blogging?” My answer is “Yes, a little sometimes. But that’s not why I write.”

You might think I’m trying to say I’m above it all. No, I’m not. I would love to make more money from my blogs and I’m not going to be apologetic about saying that. However, if money was the only objective, I could get a job. But I know it won’t give me half the satisfaction my blogging does. I’m grateful that my husband is supportive of this passion of mine and that we manage to live a comfortable life with what we have.

What often surprises me is how my choices make a lot of people uncomfortable. “Are you working?” “You could always get back into training, right?” I’ve learned to smile and not explain myself, because my responses might make them even more uncomfortable.

Why are we often apologetic about what makes us come alive. So what if it is knitting, or cooking or something that doesn’t seem to fit the label of a ‘proper job’.  Let me share with  you a story from Brené Brown‘s The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

I meet so many people who are afraid to claim their work. For example, I recently met a woman at a social media conference who is an accountant/jeweler. I was excited to meet her, because I had bought a beautiful pair of earrings from her online. When I asked her how long she had been a jeweler, she blushed and said, ‘I wish. I’m a CPA. I’m not a real jeweler.’ I thought to myself, ‘I’m wearing your earrings right now, not your abacus.’ When I pointed to my ears and said, ‘Of course you’re a jewelry maker!’ she just smiled and replied, ‘I don’t make very much money doing that. I just do it because I love it.’ .

Have you asked yourself what makes you come alive? And have to dared to do just that?