Cheating Is Never Good: So Why Cheat On Your Passion?

I have to ask this question, have you ever cheated before? Before you start discounting those grade school or high school cheats. Or even those little grey areas, like we were broken up for this period so I did see someone else, but that’s not cheating… lol.

Take a closer look; ask yourself, have I cheated in the last month? If you take a moment, you will see that answer is yes. Often times the one we cheat on is ourselves. We cheat on ourselves, by cheating on our passion. For instance I can admit that at times in my life, I’ve been in a steady relationship with my day job, but I sometimes only dated my passion. My day job got all the scheduled appointments, long hours sweat and tears, but my passion was squeezed in, when schedule allowed. Once I cleared my calendar of day job (to do list), then I would focus on my passion. But it is something about when I spend time with my passion, I feel so energized, motivated, inspired on top of the world. So you would think, I would make passion my main squeeze and date my day job. Why cheat on something that makes you feel that good right? Heck why do people cheat at all?

Well I’ve asked myself that before, and I always came up with a list of reason, why day job received priority. I have a mortgage/rent, bills I need money to pay for my passion.  All valid things however, in the end I was cheating on myself/my passion. I was putting myself last. As a woman, we often are many things to many people and we learn to juggle, sacrifice, make it happen, boss up or whatever you want to call it. But we also often put ourselves last. It may not seem that way, but what do you think about the first thing when you wake up? It’s probably what you have to do for someone else, be it family, work, house chores etc. Now I personally feel that men think about self, first (that’s not a bad thing, you just have to put in the right perspective). I often wish I thought more like them sometimes. When men are focused they put their needs, wants and desires first. But I do understand that men and women are built differently and as women we have been blessed to multi-task, hold multiple positions and do them great. We just have to stop cheating on our passion and sacrificing ourselves.

So you may say Candice, this all sounds great, but my priority is my job and if I don’t have that, I can’t pursue my passion. I understand, so for all of you out there who are cheating on yourselves, I say work through it. Become a little selfish. Schedule appointments in your calendar where you are doing only the things you love, the things that make you happy. Schedule Monday at 8-10am writing session. 11-1pm acting classes/seminar. Whatever your passion is. Do not allow something or someone to bump that schedule. Because honestly if it was a work meeting, nothing else would come before that meeting.

Here are some suggestions on trying to schedule days where you are watering your passion.  Make it fun for instance: Marketing Mondays, Writing Wednesdays, Script analysis Saturdays. Or try the chunking method; this is where you chunk all things that are similar in same category. For instance if you need to do things that require a computer, i.e. emails, research, writing, set up 1hour for emails, research 3hours, writing 2hours. Whatever you have to do, get it done, oh yea set a timer. This way you do not go over the allotted time for that activity and you will actually see how much you’ve gotten done.

I like to think of relationships and careers like plants. To have a beautiful plant, you have to tend to it. There will be times when you sow your seed, times when you water your seed and times when you will receive your harvest. But like all living things, we can’t starve (not water) are seed. Often times we spend so much time watering other people gardens, we do not tend to our own. When we finally look at our own, it looks dehydrated and not so fruitful. When you spend time taking care of other people business and not your own you dry up a little inside, feel unproductive. You get that feeling that you are being cheated. Honestly you are, but you are the one doing the cheating on yourself. No one ever likes the feeling of being cheated, so change your priorities. Make yourself number one priority, have a steady relationship with your passion and date your job. Don’t worry you won’t slack on your job; it’s not in your DNA. But when you realize who is priority, when you water your garden and not cheat on your passion, you will have room to sprinkle the job with the over flow. I guarantee you it will be more than enough.

Isaiah 30:23
He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.