Quips
& Tips
Inspiration for parents, teachers, counselors, and mentors
of
girls
#4
Is your daughter lacking in personal passion? Is she a TV
and popcorn addict, or is she just generally uninspired
to do much besides hang out with her friends?
Our instant-gratification, media-saturated world can interfere
with a girls motivation to develop hobbies and interests
she enjoys. Her activities may be limited to passive, time-gobbling
TV watching, and it may be hard for her to get excited about
a longer-term project that moves at a slower pace and require
her to take concrete action.
Want to help? Dont just limit TV time, remind her
that she has other activity options that could be very rewarding.
If she spends a little time making an effort to find activites
she likes, she could discover something truly wonderful
that gives her life new dimension.
Heres a quick list you can give her for a inspiration.
Ten ways to make sure youre pursuing your passion:
1. Understand why theres power in passion. According
to one study (Bashaw and Grant), your personal inspiration
is more critical in achieving your goals than your intelligence,
ability, and income.
2. Dream a little (or big) dream. In your perfect world,
what are you doing? This should supply lots of clues on
what makes you tick.
3. See when time flies. If you lose track of how many hours
have elapsed while youve been painting, researching,
skating, or creating, its a bonafide passion.
4. Listen to your gut. Intuition is a spiritual faculty
and does not explain, but simply points the way, said
philosopher Florence Scovel Shinn (18771940).
5. Not sure what your passion is? Explore many possibilites.
Take classes in all kinds of subjects, explore after-school
options you might never considered if you werent intentionally
being so open-minded, make yourself available so something
can grab you.
6. Start something. No more procrastinating. Youve
heard of the law of inertia? A girl at rest on the couch
tends to stay at rest on the couch. Get up!
7. If you hit a pothole, dust yourself off and keep moving
down the road. Remember, says actor Christina Ricci, Everything
is fixable. Nothing in life is ever set in stone.
8. Dont waste time pursuing anything but your
passion.
9. On the other hand, occasionally stop so you can avoid
burnout. Spend time with your friends, connect with your
family, do other things.
10. Dont let anyone talk you out of pursuing your
passion. Listen to foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpours
advice: People will always try to knock you in lifeand
knock your dreams. In a peculiar way, thats not such
a bad thing. In the end, it gives you an opportunity to
prove you want it enough and that youre strong enough
to keep going.
Quips
& Tips #5
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Copyright by Catherine Dee
Organizations: You're welcome to reprint this material
free; please credit Catherine Dee.
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