Veronica’s Seeds of Wisdom: Grow your passions outside of work

Each morning before work I wake up, I water my garden, trees, and plants. I do have a sprinkler system, but I like giving extra love!  And after a long day at the office, when the sun is going down, I may water again (it’s over 100 degrees in Houston), feed, look for bugs, fertilize, and maybe add some plants for pollination.  I absolutely love seeing the growth, the production of vegetables, blooming flowers, and fruit trees.  I also love becoming more self-sufficient.   

Benefits of pursuing a passion outside of work: 

• It is good for your well-being and mental health, which allows you to be more effective at the office and a better person to interact with, which helps your career.  It also can support your physical health.   

• It allows you not to be resentful for focusing all your time on work.  This is another factor that can support you being a more pleasant person to interact with.   

• It can support you in being more passionate and focused on your work and team. 

• It can challenge your mind and stretch your knowledge.  It allows your brain to work in a different way and gets you to spend time learning, which is a good muscle to strengthen.   

• It can provide a better balance between life outside the office and life in the office. 

• It can give you the opportunity to spend time with your family about a passion you care about.  Many times, people come home tired with little time for fun with the family. 

• It can give you transferable skills in case your current career path becomes unstable. Going through a downturn can be tough for driving income into your household, but it is possible that your passion could provide revenue streams.   

• It can give you the opportunity to support your community in ways that you never thought.  It especially may bring you joy because it is something that you take great pride in.   

• It can make you more interesting and give you the opportunity to connect better with your work relationships. 

Take time for yourself, and it will positively affect you and all those around you.