This morning I snuck over to the local Pickleball courts and had several hours of Pickleball play with some new friends.

I have a long “to do” list, but instead of chaining myself to my desk to get it done, I threw on some (warm) sweats and headed out into the chill for some exercise and fellowship.

As I was playing, I hit as many losers as winners. I ran cross court and jumped up in the air for shots, channeling my inner Michael Jordan (I was at least 2″ off the courts!) and I laughed too many times to count.

When I headed home, sweaty and with my emotional tank full to the brim, I knew I would have a productive day ahead.

That’s because, as you well know, Pickleball has quickly become a new passion for me.

And when we make time for our passions, suddenly our other available time grows almost exponentially.

Once I was home, instead of sitting at my desk, struggling to find the words, instead I’m struggling to type fast enough to get the words out.

Instead of worrying about how I’m going to finish the Christmas decorating that’s been laying around 1/2 finished, I whipped out the mantle and cleared up the stragglers in about 15 minutes!

That’s what happens when your tank is full.

So this is my question for you.

What fills your tank?

What’s your passion that makes your heart sing? (At least for right now – Lord knows they change over time), but for today, what is it?

In my course that’s coming out in January, I’ll be doing a deep dive into how to find your passions. Because, let’s face it, between laundry, carpool and work demands, we midlife women often lose our sense of what we absolutely love.

A Simple Exercise

Finding your passions in midlife can be life challenging. But it is key to living your most fulfilled life.

For today, here’s a quick exercise you can try to clarify your passions:

Set the timer for 5 minutes.

Then, I want you to think back when you were between 10 and 16 years old.

What did you love to do? What were you good at and what did you enjoy doing? Which activities took up the most of your time?

Using a pen and paper, write down a list. Sometimes, as you start writing, more and more will come to mind. Write it all down.

Then look over that list and see if there are any common denominators. If so, pull them out.

And ask yourself if any of those things are things you would be interested in doing right now.

They may look different now. For example, when I was that age, I did basketball, swimming, diving, softball, rugby (I know!), cross country, cheerleading, volleyball and tennis. The common denominator was that I played team sports. I liked being on a team and I liked competing in athletics.

Today, I channel that desire onto the Pickleball court rather than all the other sports, and even though it’s a different sport, it’s filling that desire (Passion) right up to the top.

Now It’s Your Turn…

Now you can think about finding your own passions in midlife. And how you can add them into your life right now.

Because one thing I know for sure – this world needs YOU alight with your passion light shining.

Cheering you on,

Christy

The post The Point of Your Passions appeared first on Christy Largent.

Sound familiar? It’s really hard to stay positive when you’ve got anxiety beating down your door – even when you’re trying to sleep!

So I want to give you a few suggestions I have found to be helpful, even when you’re dragging.

“Look at something that makes you smile”

When you wake up anxious and beat down, look at something that makes you smile right away. Maybe that’s a picture of your child or grandchild. Or of a favorite holiday when you all laughed and laughed. Or maybe it’s your silly dog who just jumped up on your bed, tail wagging and trying to lick your face.

Use a physical cue to turn your mind to a happy place. As you look at that picture or hug your dog, take just 30 seconds and enjoy the moment. Take a deep breath and think about that happy vacation or how warm and soft your dog is. As my 10-year-old son says, “Savor the moment, Mama!”

“Take time to be grateful for this”

Using the energy of those happy thoughts, the next step is to start being grateful for this positive thing in your life. You can say it out loud or just to yourself. It might sound something like this…

“Thank you for this sweet dog who makes me laugh. Thank you for her soft fur. Thank you I get to hug her and snuggle her close this morning. Thank you that I have money to take care of her and buy her food. Thank you that she brings me joy.”

I must warn you that what invariably happens is that right about now your anxious thoughts will try to intrude. Our mind is crazy like that.…lost in the moment with your sweet dog, you suddenly start thinking about that horrible employee who is causing all kinds of problems with your team.

So when that person comes to mind, instead of jumping into anxiety about the strife she brings, just picture her. Then control the thought about her intentionally, turning it to gratitude. 

It might sound like this…

“Wow. Carley. Hmm…Thank you for Carley. Thank you for the way working with her is allowing me to learn and grow. Thank you that I get to figure out how to either get her back on track or let her go for career redirection. Thank you that I’m capable and know how to either work through this or get help to work through this…Thank you for my job that lets me use my skills and talents. Thank you that I get to have so many awesome people on my team. And as difficult as Carley is, she just shows me how fortunate I am to have so many other great employees. I’m confident I can handle this today.”

Just writing that made me feel better!

“Repeat as needed”

Repeat as needed throughout the day. During difficult times, I know anxious thoughts are never far away. And when they overwhelm, I find we often allow ourselves to obsess on all the possible things that could/would/might go wrong and it becomes a negative spiral that never ends. It just gets darker and deeper.

That’s why it’s so important to recognize that you can have the victory and find the positive if you choose to. These simple steps…Observe, Give Thanks, Repeat will help you do that.

Have you tried to turn your anxiety around to find the positive? If so, what works for you? Let me know as I’d love to hear your solution.

The post Simple Steps to Turn Anxiety into Positivity appeared first on Christy Largent.