DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Career
Dutch news & articles
How to reconnect with your dreams
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy



Related Stories

How to deal with difficult people at workHow to deal with difficult people at work
5 questions to ask yourself when considering a career change5 questions to ask yourself when considering a career change
How to become a rockstar in your fieldHow to become a rockstar in your field
Watch out for these red flags at your workplaceWatch out for these red flags at your workplace
These are the best productivity hacks to start work after your holidays!These are the best productivity hacks to start work after your holidays!
How to convert your biggest weakness into your greatest strengthHow to convert your biggest weakness into your greatest strength
How to choose the right coach for youHow to choose the right coach for you
5 essential tips from people who made a successful career jump5 essential tips from people who made a successful career jump
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usSitemap
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairsWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Dorota Klop-Sowinska
Official Member of Forbes Coaches Council. I specialize in international career and expat coaching. I am the author of the book Career Jump! How to Successfully Change Your Professional Path (www.careerjump.nl). I am a certified coach/counselor at the Dutch Academy for Psychotherapy. I have been living in the Netherlands for more than 18 years. During the past 18 years, I have experienced and enjoyed an expat life from all possible angles. I was a woman with a busy international career living in the Netherlands with my Dutch husband. I was a mother experiencing the motherhood in the Netherlands when my daughters were born. I was an expat wife enjoying life in Mexico, where I have followed my husband's career. I was an expat woman starting my own business in Brazil. Now I am an entrepreneur who is running her successful coaching business in the Netherlands. Thanks to all those roles I can easily connect and fully understand both women and men who are living abroad for various reasons or going through big changes in their lives. I have been there, I have seen it, I have done it!Read more

How to reconnect with your dreams

Sep 22, 2017

Imagine that you wake up with a feeling of excitement every day:

  • About what the new day will bring.
  • Because you know that what you do is what you love.
  • Because you know that the work you do is what you were born to do here on this planet.
  • Because you feel that what you do matters.
  • Because what you do is an expression of your gifts.

But what if you, like myself in the past and many of my clients, do not know what your passion is? Or even worse, what if you are afraid that you do not have a passion? What do you do then?

When did we stop dreaming?

I have noticed that many of my clients often know what they are passionate about, but they are either afraid to admit what it is or do not take it seriously themselves. Why? Mainly because they are afraid of what others will think.

This passion does not live in our heads; it lives in our hearts. So, it is often difficult to find it by only thinking about it. We can find it by feeling and doing it. Often, the problem is that our rationality takes over when we are young.

Good intentions, negative impact

Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? And do you remember how your parents reacted when you told them?

I regularly hear from my clients that when they were kids and told their parents that they wanted to be a vet, a hairdresser, a garbage man, a dancer, or an actor, the reaction from their parents was usually negative. They didn’t take them seriously or disapproved of the idea. They had better plans in mind for their daughters or sons, protecting them and pushing for a more financially secure and stable future.

Often parents do this with the best intentions, however, they do not realise the profound negative impact such a reaction can have on their kids. The negative reaction we receive from the most important people in our lives teaches us that our dreams are not important, wrong or frowned upon. We learn that our intuition and instinct to choose according to our hearts is not good.

One of the most important things for a child is to get attention and approval from their parents. So, when we learn that what we feel and dream of is not approved, we stop feeling and start THINKING about what we could do to make our parents happy. This is when we start to use our rational brain over our feelings or intuition.

The biggest challenge we face in rediscovering our passion is learning to listen to our heart and intuition again.

How do we rediscover our passion again?

By connecting to our inner creative child! Our creative child is free. Free of expectations of others. It loves to play, loves to be outside, and loves to get dirty. When do you feel free? What do you do that brings joy and creativity to your life? Is it exercise? Being in nature?

Creative writing exercise

Doing a creative writing exercise is a great way to reconnect with your passion and dreams. First, you need to connect with your free, creative inner child. Go for a walk, meditate, play with your kids, dance or exercise. Immediately after, when you feel you are still connected to your creative self, take a notebook and start writing.

Consider the following:

  • What do I like, what do I love?
  • What makes me feel alive?
  • What am I passionate about?

Just write, write, write. Do not edit. Do not judge. Write everything that comes up. Do not block anything. If negative things come up, write them down too. Be free! The more you do this exercise, the better you will become at it and the more creative ideas you will have.

As always, please inspire others and share your passion and dreams in the comments below!

 

By Dorota Klop-Sowinska