057-Top

How to Know When You Need a Passion Project

Ever felt like you’re just not doing what you’re meant to do? Like your life is on autopilot and things are mostly great, but lacking that on fire, purpose-driven energy you used to chase? It might be time for a passion project.

2020 has forced us all to take a closer look at our lives – what matters, what we want, what we most need to thrive. This is the perfect time to reset and do something just for you. It could change your whole life!

5 Signs You Need a Passion Project

A passion project is something that ignites your soul. A venture you care deeply about, either for how it makes you feel or how it serves a cause that matters to you. It can aim to make money, or not, but making time in your schedule to serve your desires can reduce stress, improve happiness, and help you find your purpose.

A few years ago, I lacked a passion project. And I felt that lack.

I wanted something that would let me express my full self. Finding time for one, even as a sole breadwinner with a 50+ hour a week job, toddler, and baby on the way wasn’t always easy. But I found that making the time lifted me up. I had more energy, better quality time with my family, and ultimately found my path.

Not sure if you need a passion project? Here are five signs you might.

1 - You Don't Feel Like You're Being True to You

Most of the time I was working in finance I felt like I was wearing a mask. I was good at my jobs and often enjoyed them, but I felt disconnected from who I was. None of my colleagues dreamed of owning small farms. Our hobbies outside of work were completely different. I dreamed of a career with purpose and the constant pursuit of one more dollar of return felt like it lacked impact.

Sometimes, the paths we walk down in pursuit of other goals separate us from our core being. If you feel like you’ve lost yourself somewhere along the way, a passion project can help bring you back. It can be a space where you are uniquely you, without judgment, so that you can appreciate the other aspects of your life even more.

This is something I hear a lot from stay-at-home parents, Jeremiah included. They throw so much time into their kids, whom they adore, that they lose their feeling of autonomy and purpose. Or, their kids become their sole purpose and source of happiness. Then parents start to panic as their children approach adulthood. Full-time caregivers can almost always benefit from a passion project to reignite their sense of self.

Design Your Passion Project Workbook

Ready to Discover Your Perfect Passion Project?

Take action on your dreams now by downloading our free guide!

2 - You Are Overwhelmingly Busy, But Also Bored

Have you ever looked at your schedule, filled to bursting with back-to-back responsibilities, meetings, and activities, and just thought, “ugh.” Like not one of those things looks like any fun? That you’ll be checking your phone over and over to see when one activity ends, just to get to the next time-checking activity?

I hate the word bored. But when we remove self and passion from our schedule too often, it gets taken over by things that sap our life energy instead of refueling us. A passion project can give us something to look forward to. A way to get back into a flow state where time flies, because what we are doing excites us.

People who are busy-but-bored often tell me that they don’t have time for a passion project. To those people, I always recommend the book Essentialism. It discusses how we have gotten into the habit of adding things to our schedule because of a fear of saying no or missing out. Even when we don’t think those tasks will add immense value to our or others’ lives. Author Greg McKeown can teach you how to implement his concept of, “Less. But better.”

Danielle Laporte Quote

3 - You Dread Going To Work In The Morning

Getting ready for work makes you irritable. The weekends are great but Sunday night the anxiety sets in.

You just don’t want to go.

Every email from your boss seems annoying and your work seems pointless. In short, you’re frustrated. And bored (ick, that word again).

Going through cycles at work of being engaged and then bored is completely normal. None of us like our jobs every single day. Bloggers have to deal with tech issues and constantly changing social media algorithms. Doctors have to deal with patients they know aren’t following medical advice. Freelance writers have to write articles about things they couldn’t care less about. 

But when that dislike becomes chronic, week in and week out, it is time to find something new.

Leaving your job to jump to something that seems more interesting is a risky move. Not just financially, but also for long-term happiness. Maybe the thing you’re interested in is just shiny-object syndrome. Once you’re in the middle of it, you might find out you don’t like it at all. It might move you further from your long-term goals.

When you get frustrated at work, a part-time passion project can help you test a new path without abandoning ship. Serving a desire or pursuit outside of work might even make you appreciate your career more. And if not, it can use the time to discover what the next step really is.

4 - You're Feeling Stuck

Whenever I think about feeling stuck, I think about All the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss and “the waiting place.”

It’s like we’re stuck in the waiting place – waiting for a sign, for permission, for someone else to make a change. But when we’re in that place, we have to move because otherwise we’ll stay stuck there, waiting, forever.

You don’t need to know the end result. You don’t need to know if there is another perfect job or business out there for you. You don’t need to know that your passion project is going to make the big bucks.

You just need to take a step.

That step can be doodling. It can be knitting. It can be picking up a small freelance job that might be interesting and fun.

It’s a matter of taking one step so you can see the next step.

Look for the little glimmers of curiosity. That voice in your head of, “Hey, maybe I would like that.” Then commit to try it for a short period, no big expectations. Just see if you like and to pull yourself out of the quicksand of the “stuck” place.

Design Your Passion Project Workbook

Ready to Discover Your Perfect Passion Project?

Take action on your dreams now by downloading our free guide!

5 - You Have An Idea You Keep Saying "Someday" To

Someday. When the kids go to kindergarten. When they get to middle school. When my partner gets that promotion. When the kids move out.

This is one of the most common things I hear from mamas. It’s like we’re living our lives on pause for our kids. And often, for our partners, or our parents, or anyone else who needs us.

But what if the best thing we can do for those we love is live to our fullest truth?

Want to be a writer? Photographer? A work-at-home parent who doesn’t have to miss soccer games for last-minute calls? Or do you have a world-changing business idea you can’t stop thinking about?

Chasing our passions, especially when it feels like there isn’t an obvious or quick way to make money with them, can make it easy to fall into the “someday” trap. But if you keep revisiting the same idea over and over. If you read every article with a headline that relates to your dream. If you have a topic that you could talk someone’s ear off about, you should consider dipping your toe in the water.

We can make time in our lives for the things that are important to us. Take a class to develop a skill you hope to pursue. Make your “someday” project a side hustle until you can give it even more focus. Block off an hour a week just to work on the thing that you’re daydreaming about.

Making time for your dreams, even if it’s just a few minutes, can reduce stress and crack the door to the true range of possibilities available to you.

Take Your First Step & Explore Your Curiosities and Passions

You might not be able to make your passion your full-time job. In fact, doing so might even make you enjoy it less. But finding time to connect with your true goals and desires can make you a happier, more fulfilled human being.

And from that place of abundance, you can discover opportunities you would never have dreamed of.

Do you have a passion project or something you would love to pursue? Tag me on IG @smartmoneymamas and let me know!

Listen Up, Mama! Check Out Our Podcast Episode on How to Know When You Need a Passion Project!

Or listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify

Thanks to Our Episode Partner!

Bluehost is my absolute favorite web host for bloggers, podcasters, and small business owners. Get your website set up in just minutes, without the tech headaches! And as a Smart Money Mama, pricing starts at just $2.95/mo!

NeedProject2
NeedProject1
057-NeedProject3