The Art of Extreme Self-care Chapter 11

Hello and welcome to The Art of Extreme Self-care postpartum style. For those of you who are new to my blog, last December I announced I would be doing a read-a-long of The Art of Extreme Self-care by Cheryl Richardson and sharing with you how I applied the principles of the book in a postpartum setting.  We will be focusing on one chapter a month and while I try to post the first Monday of the month, that doesn't always happen. Last chapter was about dealing with anger and speaking your truth. Let's dive into chapter 11.

Chapter overview: Waking up

What I got out of the chapter: "Many of us lose sight of the things that make us truly happy." The first line of the chapter couldn't be more true with motherhood. Once the baby arrives into our lives, everything we do is to make sure our child is cared for, loved, and protected. We bust our butts keeping the house running as smoothly as possible and we put ourselves last. Doing things for our own pleasure becomes something of antiquity and often times we lose sight ourselves. I cannot stress the importance of finding those pleasures in life. They feed the well so you can feed your family's well.

Treasure Hunt (looking for hints or objects that appeal to you). 
I know I completely lost myself after my daughter was born. The things I used to enjoy no longer interested me. I didn't know what I liked anymore. One of my deepest pleasures was getting lost in a good book. But I had hard time reading what I used to like (paranormal and fantasy). So after reading this chapter on discovering your hidden passion, I went to the Kindle store and looked for free or .99 cent books and downloaded different books that looked interesting. 

Once you find an object, do something.
Next time I had a good chunk of time to myself, I scanned my personal library and picked out a book that sounded good. It turned out to be Brenda Novak's When We Touch (A Whiskey Creek novella)I completely fell in love with her Whiskey Creek series and have been reading them in order as time allows.
My writing has changed because of this. The dark paranormal stories are still there, but right now I'm enjoying writing lighthearted contemporary romance, something I didn't expect I'd like. So what about you? What hidden passions are waiting to be discovered?