What if 2025 is the year your passions actually stick...? ✨

Happy New Year, Passion Seeker!

You know that drawer everyone has? The one filled with abandoned hobby supplies and half-finished projects? Well, mine recently reminded me of my brief but passionate affair with watercolor painting.

There I was, surrounded by soggy paper (who knew paper could get THAT wet?!), barely-used brushes, and the remnants of what was supposed to be my artistic awakening. And don't even get me started on the well-intended career resolutions of my past that dissolved as soon as I walked into the first team status of January. 

Sound familiar? 

As we begin 2025, everyone's talking about how to START something new. But let's be honest: starting isn't usually our problem. It's the STAYING that gets tricky. 

That burst of New Year energy feels amazing, but what happens when reality kicks in and our passion project starts feeling more like an annoyance than a joy?

That's what I want to talk about today. Not just how to begin (again), but how to actually stick with it this time. 
 

You Deserve Time to Play

What stopped me from pursuing the watercolors wasn't the soggy paper as much as it was the voice in my head saying "shouldn't you be doing something more productive?" We forget that time spent on what lights us up isn't selfish or wasteful. It's essential. Alyssa told me recently: “I was working all the time because I thought that was my passion. And then I found aerial arts and I've been able to integrate it into my life. Now I have a passion outside of work, I can now set more firm boundaries between work and leisure. And I now work harder in the office because I need to go and "do my thing" afterwards. It's become like my North Star.” 

See? Play makes us more productive! 

Suck Up The Cost

Years ago, as I was stuck in a corporate job where I felt my personality being sucked from me (OK a bit dramatic, but I was definitely at a crossroads!) a wise coach once asked me what my "cost of change" was. 

I was confused at first, because it sounded to me like "no cost" wasn't an option. What did she mean? There was a cost? I couldn't just magically change my career?!

I'll always remember that day as when I realised that doing what you love will always cost you something. Maybe it's money for the course that will teach you something new, or the potential embarrassment of raising your hand in that work meeting. Or, it might be a change of identity, sore muscles or spending less time with people who don't truly have your back. 

Promise me in 2025 that you'll stop using these "costs" as reasons to put off what you love.

Instead, embrace them. They're not obstacles – they're investments in yourself remember: no-one is saying you suddenly need to stop being a responsible parent, leader and human! 

Walk Away From The Candy...

Resolutions are like those little Nerd candies. They're so flippin' addictive because they're so TINY! "Lose 10 lbs". "Get promotion". "Learn Chinese". Those few words are the easy part. The hard bit is getting honest with yourself about what you need to follow through.

Is it knowledge? Time? Support? Money? Maybe it's all four, who cares! Knowing what you need is a strength, not a sign you are lacking. You are the only one that knows, so commit to admitting it, then make a plan. Not a perfect plan. Not a someday plan. A real, messy, this-is-what-I-can-actually-do plan.

I say all this as someone with a drawer full of unfinished projects and a heart full of good intentions. But you know what? That's exactly why I know these strategies work. Because when I apply them, when I remember to play, embrace the costs, and get real about what I need – magic happens. And it can happen for you too.

Here's to doing more of what we love in 2025 – soggy paper, messy starts, and all!

Laura

Founder, Passion Collective