Immersed into doing interesting things

Are you actually doing the things that you hold close to your heart? Are you getting good at it and making it happen? Although we have a natural tendency to continually invest ourselves into doing the things we love, we unfortunately sometimes may feel unable or unwilling to immerse ourselves into doing the things that we are passionate about...

Here are some of the reasons why we get stuck, as well as ideas on how to immerse ourselves back into doing the things we love doing:

Stigma – that it is silly time wasting

Often we stay away from the things we love doing most, because it may be labelled as silly, unimportant and time-wasters. The truth is, because we enjoy doing it so much, we can spend hours, days and weeks on end doing it without finding it tiresome!

Enter the ‘discomfort’-zone

When the ‘this-is-amazing’ feeling vanishes from time to time, and you find it dreadfully uninteresting or difficult to do - take positive, onward action straight through that discomfort! What you would find unfolding is a lot less dreadful and scary than not taking any action. All else aside, it is mostly the forward motion that counts!

Are you afraid of failure?

Would you prefer to make excuses for not trying, or would you rather learn something and try again? Throw yourself into it! Risking failure is the only way forward. Keep a balanced perspective, keep learning and keep trying... remember how Edison invented the light bulb? Thankfully, he kept trying!

Limiting your options

You may not like to fully immerse yourself into something because you think you may be missing out on something else... and, who would want to limit their options? Keeping your options open keeps intact the illusion of possible all round greatness. So why try hard at one thing and shatter the illusion? I’d say, why suspend your life at the fork in the road - afraid to go down the wrong path?

Generalist’s pressure

When excelling as a generalist (a type of specialist in very high demand these days), you may feel an unfulfilled need to delve very deeply into every area you pursue. This would be unrealistic to achieve and if you do achieve it, it would be utterly exhausting. Keep things in perspective and be fair on yourself about how much to expect from yourself.

It’s ‘Good enough’ when it’s second nature

Mastery requires more than knowing how to do something. As you move up through each level of competence, it requires practice and more practice until doing it becomes second nature. Set realistic expectations for yourself on a path of continual up-skilling. Become as good as you need to be to enjoy it – it is each to their own, not everyone have to become an expert at it.

Self-doubt

You cannot protect yourself by holding back. If don’t take your passion seriously, it won’t amount to anything. Inspiration is great therapy for driving away self-doubt – find inspiration by spending time reading materials related to your passion, like blogs and magazines. Find ways of focussing on your passion and secure little wins and plus points to keep going and build confidence. Always take the next vital step forward, while speaking kind words of encouragement to yourself.

Make time

Sometimes we lose the balance in our lives, and we don’t make time for doing the things we are passionate about. Be creative and when taking stock of your activities – mix and match them until you have allocated the time needed for the things you love doing. If seriously time-strapped, creatively use any small pockets of free time for practise.

Find the fire-starters

Find out what you enjoy doing, what interests you and ignites a lasting fire! Become enthusiastic about what you do by diving deeper than ever before into it, discovering new and interesting things about it. Visualize your passions and create a vision collage with images and inspirational words that remind you what your passions are.

What activities could you immerse yourself into, get lost in? Which things, when doing them, make you feel energised and completely unaware of time?

You LOVE doing it. You find it addictive. You thoroughly enjoy it...

What does it for you?

It can be pretty much anything, you name it – here are some examples to get you exploring: Is it reading a good book, writing, walking, bike-riding, swimming, watching sports, model building, exercising, listening to music, taking long drive on open country roads, messing with musical instruments, gadgets, wheels, day dreaming, taking photos, your job, your fitness programme, writing letters, articles, blog-posts or fiction, chopping firewood, nature hikes, artistic endeavours, studying, spending time with family and friends? Be sure to notice which things light the fire in you.

Now what?

Take the plunge and start doing a lot more of what you love doing, and really immerse yourself into it! Following your passion lends greater meaning to your life. When you take action, you would start noticing related ideas everywhere you go to incorporate into your activities. Go forth and grow a varied and interesting life!

Late afternoon

Late afternoon - the lowering sun releases soft rays, spilling hazily into long deep shadows, and lighting up playful sparkles in white-water of the waves. Gazing at whispers of magic slow-dancing on a global lazer-beam.

How this image came into being

The other day, on walk in the late afternoon, I was armed with my camera and had no plans. Then I noticed a stretch of the see that looked rather magical. I started snapping away at the sparkles, waves and rocks. I was taking the photos into the sun using a macro setting which produced the starry-effect I love so much, and also the very over-exposed two-tone appearance of the waves and the rocks. Before I knew it, I had taken 270 photos and my card was full, and I had to quit. It was so much fun.

Then a day or two later at home, the stitching together began. I chose about 25 of the photos to make up an imaginary scene similar to the one I saw, but including all the different dynamics which happened at different moments, into one image and this 'photo' came about. It is 2.5 meters by 1.05 meters, which is an aspect of the golden ratio. Also used the golden ratio to create the basic layout, and to determine the position of the sun's shine line and the other focus areas of the image.

I was hoping to achieve simplicity, removing detail and leaving aspects of the image open to the imagination. The seven sets of waves and the extra out-of-focus edges of the photo can bring the observer into a very tranquil meditative state.

I think this huge landscape image would look very nice above a black leather couch, on a red or other warm colored wall. Or next to a dining room table - as the dynamism of the waves would reflect conversations and vibrant activities. Also, it could work in an entrance hall of an office or meeting room, to reflect the dynamism and energy of the company and its people.

And now, my next challenge is to find a way to get it sold :-)

Positive words as affirmations