My husband, Jeff, and I flew to Shanghai, China to visit our older son, who is taking part in a study abroad program for the school year. When he left last August, he spoke absolutely no Chinese. Now, after intense studying and hours of discipline and commitment, he is about 70 percent fluent.
Okay. Let’s start there. The human mind (his and yours and all of ours) is amazing. We are capable of so much, and yet we limit ourselves. We are content with social media, endless scrolling, and Netflix. But there is no end to the things we could accomplish if we dedicated ourselves to growing in a certain area…
…which begs the question: What inspires you? What makes you come alive? What area(s) of life do you want to grow in? Here are a few ideas, just to get your creative juices flowing:
- Nutrition?
- Fitness?
- Learning a new language?
- Genealogy?
- History?
- Gardening?
- Personal finance?
- Landscaping?
- Learning an instrument?
- Training for an adventure?
- Planning a trip?
- Studying a culture?
- Cleaning and organizing your home?
- Cooking?
- Writing for personal reasons?
- Writing for publication?
- Studying theology?
- Reading the classics?
- Memorizing poetry?
- Pottery?
- Knitting?
- Trying out for the theater in your community?
- Volunteering?
- Starting a new business?
The possibilities for your life are endless. You are an amazing creation, full of cleverness and desire. What do you want to do? What ideas are floating around in your head? What spark is waiting to be fanned into flame?
Pick something, and then reverse engineer. How would you grow in that area?
Want to plan a trip? Get online and start reading about your chosen area. Check out books about it. Research tours in the area. Price hotels or other lodging options. Talk to people who have traveled there and receive their advice.
Interested in researching your family history? There are several genealogy sites online, and you can even get started for free. Talk to elders in your family to find out fun dirt on your third cousin on your mother’s side. Confer with your siblings to recall family memories. Write it all down.
Does learning an instrument interest you? YouTube is your friend. Or check local listings for a teacher in your area. Check your local community college for beginner’s classes. Hire a friend to teach you.
Learn a language? Check out Duolingo, a free online language learning platform. They don’t have every language, but they have quite a few. Again, community colleges might have great beginner’s classes. Look for Meetups in your area. In bigger cities, there’s a club for everything, it seems. Even really bizarre interests. Search “Meetups in your area” and you’ll see what I mean.
You get the idea. Whatever your interest, there’s a way to grow it and make it blossom.
It’s up to you. Sit still and let your mind go. Listen to that still small voice. Or maybe it’s a loud voice that’s been calling you for some time now.
What about you?
What inspires you? I’d love to hear about it!
