Hobby or Passion?
Are horses a hobby or a passion for you? If you look up the word “hobby” in the dictionary, it says: a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation. An activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation. These are things you do to relax and enjoy. For me it’s things like going to the movies, decorating and listening to podcasts and audible books.
As opposed to the word “passion”: a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. A strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for something.
A passion is something you’re compelled to do and you can’t imagine not doing it. It’s something you’ve probably been interested in for a long time. It’s engrained in who you are. It’s something you will always find time for. And it’s bigger than a hobby in terms of its importance to you.
Sometimes a hobby turns into a passion. I’m watching this happen with my youngest daughter. She has discovered that she likes to hike. What once was enjoying short little trips to local parks to walk on trails for exercise, has turned into going on 12 mile hikes and making plans for vacations involving hiking.
Are Horses Your Passion?
If you are reading this, my guess is that for you, horses are more than a hobby. For most of us who love horses, they are definitely a passion. I can’t remember a time when horses weren’t a part of my life. I have seen pictures of me sitting on a horse when I was about a year old. I have memories of begging my parents to let me ride the ponies at some little pony ride place we would often pass by on our local travels about town. Sometimes they actually gave in! They finally caved to my desire when I received my first horse on my 14th birthday.
Even during a time when I didn’t have a horse of my own, which lasted about 20 years, I always found a way to connect with my passion. I would attend local horse shows, take lessons or rent horses and go on a long trail ride. I remember doing that when I was 7 months pregnant!
A passion is something that if you try to deny it for yourself, you will feel it. You will feel unfulfilled and ignoring it will affect your actions. And we can have more than one! Sometimes our passions are intertwined with each other. You may have a passion for horses and love photography, for example. You probably have shots of horses filling the walls of your home.
What are your thoughts on your passions? Do you have more than one? I’m wondering if perhaps I have more than one. My love for my horse and her care takes up most of my free time. Can I possibly have more than one passion?
How to Determine What You Are Passionate About
From Suzy Rosenstein of Women in the Middle, here are 7 questions to ask yourself to help determine what you are most passionate about:
- What patterns or themes do you see about what makes you happy? When I think about this question and my love for horses I see how the theme of the lifestyle that they bring into my life permeates everything I do. I love living in the country and small towns. I love the peace and ease I feel when I’m home. I love the quiet. I love the people and the friends I’ve made because of our shared interests in horses.
What times in your life have you been the most joyful? Look at what comes in mind first. Don’t ignore that! Maybe you’ve discovered that in everything you do, it has to involve creativity. Being creative is a passion of yours!
- What have you always found time to do? And why do you always find time to do it? How do you feel when you are doing it?
- What did you always wish that you had more time to do? And why haven’t you done it yet?
- What have you always had a natural curiosity about? What is that thing that if someone brought up a conversation about, you’d stop what you were doing and pay attention?
- What has made you happy over the years that is aligned with your purpose in the world? Where does the thing that makes you happy cross over with your purpose?
For me, this is sort of one of those sort of woo woo questions that I seem to have some sort of resistance to. But here’s what I know about myself and my “purpose”. I feel driven to help people and perhaps to teach. I always have. It’s one of the reasons I write this blog. So now, I’m beginning to see how these two things, my passion for horses and my desire to help people are aligned.
- What perspective do you have about what may be missing in your life now that you have pondered the above questions?
- What ideas here stand out for you? Become aware of your thoughts on this and how they make you feel. Don’t ignore your feelings! Are you excited about what these questions bring up for you?
Dream Killers
Watch out for thoughts like these. They are dream killers:
- I’m too busy
- I’m too old
- It’s too late to pursue this
- I could never do that
- It’s too hard
- It’s never going to work
These thoughts are poisonous and are simply not true! Pursuing what you are passionate about can bring more meaning and purpose into your life!
To help you work through some of these questions, I’ve created a worksheet for you so that you can jot down some ideas as they occur to you. You can grab it my clicking on the link below.
I’m so curious about what you’ve discovered about yourself as you work through these questions. Did you gain any insights? What are you passionate about? And what are you doing to ensure that it’s part of your life? Share in the comments!
Until next time.
Enjoy the Ride!