Finding Your Passion: What Lights You Up? | Threshold Thursday w/ Nyomi Banks

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Season of Self Love Podcast. I am your host, Nyomi Banks, and I am thrilled to have you join me on this transformative journey. You see, every day we dive into a powerful conversation about self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. This podcast is brought to you by Ask Nyomi and Elevate Me Self-Discovery, where we believe that loving yourself is the first step to living a fulfilling life.

[00:00:25] You can expect insightful discussions, practical tips, and inspiring stories. Plus, we occasionally welcome special guests who will share their unique perspectives on self-love and personal growth. So get comfy, grab your favorite beverage, and let's embark on this journey together. Because it's time to embrace the beautiful person that you are. So let's elevate our lives one episode at a time. Now let's get started.

[00:00:55] Hi everyone, beautiful people. Well, welcome back to the Season of Self Love Podcast, where you get your daily dose of inspiration. I'm your host, Nyomi Banks, and I am beyond excited for today's Threshold Thursday episode. You know, this month we've been diving deep into our New Beginnings theme. Today, we're talking about something that is at the heart of every transformation. And that's finding your passion, what lights you up.

[00:01:27] Now, have you ever asked yourself, what truly excites me? Or what am I meant to be doing? And if so, this episode is for you. We're going to explore on how passion fuels your new beginnings, and how to rediscover what brings you joy, and how to incorporate those passions into your everyday life.

[00:01:51] And as always, don't forget to download your free copy of the year, a rebirth workbook. A beautiful guide to help you to reflect, set intentions, and take actions in your self-love journey. You can find it in our link in the show notes, as well as visiting our website, theseasonofselflovepodcast.com. Now, before we get into the topic, let's take a quick break, all right? It's your girl, you got it, and I'm your ranks here on the Season of Self Love Podcast. And we'll be right back.

[00:02:21] Washington Wellness Institute focuses on healing always. For me, if I look good, then I feel good. If I feel good, then I share the good. If I share the good, then I celebrate the good. If I celebrate the good, then I live the good. So I can be paid to be my greatest. But I have to learn the good to be the good. So, what does it take to be the greatest? It's as simple as a free 15-minute consultation. Be kind to yourself and heal always.

[00:02:53] Hey, it's your girl, you got it, Naomi Banks. And make sure you tune in every Thursday night to Ask Naomi Bridging the Gap Podcast. Where we talk about everything, love, sex, relationship, cultural differences, and so much more. We're bridging the gap between them all. And we even talk about this culture of listening. You need to stop by me and Dr. Tom Mike Mike as well as the BTG crew. We have some amazing guests that come to you. You never know. Just make sure you tune in Thursday night, 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

[00:03:22] Go to Ask Naomi.com and tell them Naomi's in the future. All right, my beautiful people. So before we dive in, let's take a moment to ground ourselves. So if you are in a safe place, I want you to gently close your eyes. And now take a deep breath in through your nose. And hold it for a moment.

[00:03:50] And now I want you to exhale out your nose. Now I want you to breathe in again, filling your lungs with fresh energy. Now when you exhale, I want you to release any tensions or doubt. Now I want you to visualize yourself in a place where you feel completely alive.

[00:04:16] Maybe it's creating art or helping others. Dancing, writing, or speaking your truth. Feel that joy. Feel that excitement. Now with your next breath, I want you to set an intention to explore what truly lights you up.

[00:04:47] And when you are ready, gently open your eyes, bringing that feeling of excitement with you into today's conversation. All right? All right, my beautiful people. If you are new here to the Season of Self Love Podcast, it's something that we do every day Monday through Friday here just to help ground us before we get into the topic at hand. All right, my beautiful people. So let's talk about why passion matters. Passion is what gives us, gives our life color, right?

[00:05:16] It's what keeps us motivated, curious, and fulfilled. But let's be honest. Sometimes we get so caught up in routines, responsibilities, and expectations that we lose touch of with what excites us. I want to share a quick story about years ago how I found myself asking, what am I truly passionate about? I'd have achieved certain goals in my life, but I still felt unfilled.

[00:05:46] And it wasn't until I gave myself permission to explore, to try new things, and to listen to what my heart was calling me for that I started to truly start to let.

[00:06:00] You know, a lot of times I've shared with you not only on this Season of Self Love, but also who has been following me on my self love journey and just transitioning my transformation on how my love has always been to help encourage or listen to someone. Even as a little girl, remember just giving advice to people. And that truly lit me up. I love helping people.

[00:06:31] My home, personal home, as I've always left it open. As my grandmother would say, she had a revolving door open. Actually, both of my grandmothers, I believe I shared that before. And that lights me up. So my question is to you is, what lights you up? What lights you up? When was the last time that you did something just because it lit you up? And if you're struggling to remember, don't worry.

[00:07:00] That's exactly why we are here today. You know, sometimes finding your passion starts with deep reflection. You know, you grab a journal or you just think about these questions. All right. So what I want you to do is grab your journal, your purpose paper. And here's a few questions that I have for you. All right. Some reflection questions. What activities make you completely lose track of time?

[00:07:31] What activities you completely lose track of time? All right. And the next question is, what topics can you talk about for hours without getting bored? And then the last one, when do you feel most energized and alive?

[00:07:55] I know I've shared this with you all many of times is that doing this podcast is what truly lights me up. It really does. Having these conversations with the guests, being able to answer questions and emails and just helping people. It lights me up. Now, I want to also let you know that.

[00:08:26] The prompts and the questions that I just asked, if you can't answer these right away, that's OK. The important thing is just to start asking yourself these questions and listening for the answers. You know, I get a lot of time that people ask, how did you find your purpose? You know, for me. Honestly, I believe my purpose has always been there.

[00:08:48] I think just within the past 10 years of my life, I want to say 14, 15 years of my life is when I started to become awakening to them, being aware of what my true passion was. But my purpose was, excuse me, but I had to live my journey to get there. And I had to be authentic and take accountability for all of my choices in life, if that makes sense.

[00:09:17] And for that, that allowed me to not only to understand what my passion was, but also it introduced me to my purpose. And that is what truly lights me up. You know, sometimes we don't know where that we're passionate about until we try new things.

[00:09:42] So have you ever considered taking a class just for fun or maybe a dance class or pottery workshop or even volunteering somewhere new? You know, for me is when I actively went to get my certification for sex and relationship coach. You know, before that, I has been doing Ask Naomi.

[00:10:07] I had radio station, you know, I was the radio station, a radio show. And so I was always giving advice, always. But when I truly realized when I started taking that certification class to truly be able to do this, what I say, post porn, that is when I said, oh, my God, this is where I'm supposed to be.

[00:10:29] And this is just for that, just for, you know, helping people with their relationships, helping people, you know, be open and talk about their sex life or getting better with their sex life with their partner. And just having a better relationship with one another. But then as I was going with, I just found that, you know, like, I really do love this stuff. It's stuff that I've already known just from experience, but also learning new things.

[00:10:58] I loved it. But the thing was, is that it was the magic that was happening outside of my comfort zone. You know, you say, no, Naomi, you performed in front of the camera. Performing in front of the camera and sitting in front of someone and speaking about sex and relationships so openly. But also that now you're giving someone your wisdom.

[00:11:24] And within your wisdom, that is you being open and authentic in your journey. And I wasn't used to that, doing that on a big screen. You know, it's big scene. Let me say that, a big space. But I love it. I love to do that. That would spark me. That would re-inite my passion. That lights me up.

[00:11:56] You see, as kids, we naturally gravitate towards things that brings us joy, right? Right? You know, maybe, again, it's painting, storytelling, or even playing pretend. But somewhere along the way, we were told that those things wasn't practical. So we let them go. So I encourage you to think back. What did your younger you love to do?

[00:12:25] And how can it bring that version to you back into your life today? When I really sit and I look back, I'm like, oh my God, I was giving advice at such a young age. I was what you call wise beyond my years. I was one of those old souls. Even when I was a young girl. I remember my mom always wanted me to be a lawyer. Or even the first woman president.

[00:12:56] Because she said that I was always very argumental. And that I was very debatable. She always said that. She said, no, you always have to prove your point. But in doing that, I learned that I've always had my voice. And so when people would ask me my advice, I was so sure of my advice.

[00:13:24] I don't know how anybody at 12, 13 years old could be so sure of their advice, especially when you're talking to adults. And that's why when I sit back now, and I'll give you a smile. When I sit back now and I look at some of the struggles that my parents had in growing up. And some of the things that we went through in life. Now that I look back, I'm thankful for those experiences. Because it did make me wise beyond my years.

[00:13:53] To where I can sit in a conversation with adults. And understand exactly what they're talking about and what they mean. But also it prepared me at 19, a freshman in college, of having a baby. You understand what I'm saying? And so it actually prepared me for my life before I even knew it. And I have this running thing that I said.

[00:14:25] I've always been a mother. I've been a mother since I was 19 years old. I don't know anything else. I'm 52 now. So all of my adult life, even part of my teen life, I've been responsible for another human being. And so when I go back and I think about as a child at 12, 13 years old. And sitting amongst adults and listening to those conversations and learning from them. Just the lingo and the language.

[00:14:56] And just becoming wise beyond my years. And so it truly did prepare me for that season of my life. But also, again, it helped to ignite my passion. It did. Now that we explore ways to find our passion, let's talk about making space for it. You know how life gets busy. I get it.

[00:15:26] But passion doesn't require a huge time commitment. Just intentional moments. So here are three simple ways to bring passion into your daily routine. Micro moments of joy. Even if that's just 10 minutes a day spent on something that you love. That you can shift your energy to. But take passion time blocks.

[00:15:51] Set aside one hour or a week dedicated solely to what excites you. And then community connection. Find people who share your passion. Join a group, take a class, or connect with like-minded individuals online. You know, passion doesn't demand perfection. It just asks for presence. You know, for me, I honestly can say that I have many passions.

[00:16:19] But the one that truly lights me up is having this conversation about self-love. It's having a conversation about self-approving. Finding no thing, that's where my passion and truly lights me up. Yes, I love to make jewelry. Yes, I love to dance. Yes, I love to cook. Those are some amazing things that do light me up. But it don't light me up like this. It just doesn't.

[00:16:49] Now, when I speak of my passion, your passion doesn't have to match mine. It can be just that simple to where you've taken an hour out of your time every other day just to do that, that you love to do. But like I said, it doesn't demand perfection. It just asks for your presence and being there in that moment.

[00:17:15] So now, my beautiful people, I want to hear from you. What lights you up? And what's one thing that you're going to explore this week that's neat? Please share your thoughts with me on social media using hashtag season of self-love or DM me directly.

[00:17:41] And if this episode resonates with you, please share with a friend who needs a little reminder to follow their passion. But remember, passion is your personal compass. It guides you to what makes life meaningful. No matter where you are right now, it is never too late to rediscover what lights you up.

[00:18:05] And again, don't forget to download our free year of rebirth workbook. Again, you can grab it on our website or even in the show notes. All right. All right, my beautiful people. Again, thank you for joining me here for Threshold Thursday here on the season of self-love. And make sure that you subscribe, leave a review and connect with us on all our social media platforms.

[00:18:34] Next week, we're ending off this amazing month of January. But next week, we have another powerful conversation as we are opening and bringing in a new series with cultivating our self-compassion. So until then, my beautiful people, I want you to remember that you are so worthy. You are creative and you are love. I'll see you next time. Have an amazing day.

[00:19:03] Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovering and empowerment here at the Season of Self-Love Podcast. Remember, embracing self-love is a continuous journey and we're so glad to have you with us. So if you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review. And don't forget to join our community on Facebook at Season of Self-Love.

[00:19:30] Connect with like-minded individuals who are also on their self-love journey. Now, if you have any questions or topics that you'd like for us to explore, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at seasonofselflove at gmail.com. And let your voice be heard. So until next time, take a moment for yourself today. And remember, you are worthy of love, joy, and all the beautiful things that life has to offer. Have a good day.