This morning I read a Christmas card in my ballet school which said: ‘best wishes, find your passion for 2010’. That immediately struck a chord with me!

What’s my passion?

Ever since I was a kid, I’d been writing short stories, poems and journals fervently. But when I reached my teens and twenties a passion killing monster reared its ugly head: fear of failure.

Now, while snow is drizzling against my windows and front porch I sense that I am happy, and that some of that happiness is being stirred up in me through my refound passion: writing. I believe that God has a plan for me and that it includes writing.

Today I want to help you discovering your passion too:

Leo Babauta wrote a very useful post about it: http://zenhabits.net/2009/11/the-short-but-powerful-guide-to-finding-your-passion/

Here are the questions he proposes with some of my answers.

1. What are you good at?

I’d like to name three of my skills: I’m good at writing: journaling (I’ve got four different journals at the same time) and blogging. I’m also a skilled speech therapist who knows how to sign and I have some flamenco prowess.

2. What excites you?

Blogging, dancing and working galvanize me most. Reading and studying English through all the blogs I read is some of my favorite pastimes too, as well as drinking coffee 🙂

3. What do you read about?

I mostly read nonfiction and blogs about productivity, habit change, simplicity, happiness, energy management and Christian faith.

4. What have you secretly dreamed of?

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been dreaming of being a writer. I’m dreaming of inspiring thousands of people with my writing, inspire them to live a more productive and happier life. That’s why it’s such a vicarious thrill for me that Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project reached #2 on de New York Times best seller list last week.

5. Learn, ask, take notes

I do this by taking a lot of notes like: inspirational quotes, funny English words and interesting topics. I read a lot of blogs to learn from their style, voice, vocabulary, grammar and topics.

6. Experiment, try. &   7. Narrow things down.

My blog Inspiration and Productivity is my writing experiment. I aspire to author a book later on as well.
I could also have been experimenting other flamenco styles for example, but I think I already narrowed it down quite a bit.

8. Banish your fears.

That’s quintessential! Here’s Leo’s post on overcoming self-doubt: http://zenhabits.net/2010/01/conquer-self-doubt/

9. Find the time.

I’m finding time for my passion by rising early in the morning and taking the time to blog. I also started writing my drafts during my commute.

10. How to make a living doing it.

It would be neat to publish a book some day and get some proceeds from it, but that’s not my main goal; that’s to enjoy writing and sharing my ideas with as many readers as possible in order to influence them in a positive way.

I challenge you to answer these questions for yourself and get going!