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This is a very personal post, and that’s exactly why I love having my own blog.

I’ve been reflecting on what truly motivates me to write and share our family’s sport stories, and I thought it was time to put those thoughts into words. Expect personal stories, inner reflections, and maybe even a few moments of tears as I write.

My Story: Ambition, Matrescence, and a New Identity

Ambitions and Passions

I’m a very ambitious person with a strong sense of duty. In school, I always wanted to be at the top of my class, and in my career, I aimed high. I’m that kind of person who is never fully happy, always looking for more.

While this drive has brought me satisfaction, it has also led to failures. And it was only during motherhood that I truly realized what had always kept me sane, despite this personality, was cultivating passions.

The Matrescence Identity Crisis

After a PhD and a post-doc, I left academia while I was pregnant for a stable position. At that moment I didn’t realize I was abandoning one of my greatest passions: science. I was abandoning the thrill of thinking something no one had before, of discovering, and of solving difficult problems. But at that time, I was more passionate and committed to being a good mother.

Luckily, I had other passions. But during motherhood, I let them fall to the wayside, which resulted in a real identity crisis—the so-called matrescence, or mother’s adolescence. I was feeling “only a mom”—not a researcher, traveler, athlete, enthusiast, or writer anymore. I was forgetting about my passions.

The key role of passions

Back then, I was lucky enough to have my partner, Damiano, remind me about them. He would tell me it was time for a bike ride and keep me engaged in sport, sharing that with our little one. Just one bike ride had the power to remind me who I was.

But Damiano knew that sport was only part of my passions. He gave me one of the best gifts ever: an online course on blogging. He knew, maybe even better than me, that writing was a big part of my identity and an important source of self-satisfaction.

So together, we founded a sport and family blog where I could express my creativity and find the right space for my writing passion, enhanced because it was about sports.

I was regaining my identity. I understood I was a mom and incredibly proud of it, but also a mom with all her interests and passions. It was a new me.

A Final Test of My Passions

This all happened before my stable job turned out not to be stable at all and I found myself without work. But with my passions now strong again, I didn’t let myself fall into despair. Instead, I decided to fully dedicate myself to them, almost as a way of thanking them for all the times they’ve saved me.

I wrote my first sport kid book as a celebration of my passions for writing, biking, and being a mom. I hope it can be a tool for other parents who want to pass on a love of sport. For this awareness, I will always be grateful to the people who raised me and especially to my beloved life partner, Damiano.

Science, despite not being my career anymore, remains a big passion for me. In the blog’s lifestyle section, I usually collect more scientific posts about sport-related questions parents often have, like the right time for kids to start skiing. I trust the answers from the scientific world and hope to communicate them in an easy way to other interested parents.

Regarding passions, I searched the literature to see what science tells us about their role in life and how to pass them on as parents.

I came across a model from 2010 that is still widely cited today: the Dualistic Model of Passion. This theory, deeply investigated by Robert J. Vallerand, a professor of psychology at the University of Québec, defines passion as a “strong inclination toward a self-defining activity that people love, find important, and in which they invest time and energy.”

But passion isn’t always healthy. The model distinguishes between two types:

• Harmonious Passion: This is a healthy passion that originates from a self-determined desire to engage in an activity and is usually associated with greater satisfaction with life.
• Obsessive Passion: This comes from a more controlled, external pressure to engage in an activity and can lead to negative effects on well-being.

Why It’s Important to Pass on a Passion

Since harmonious passions are key to well-being, I believe it’s vital to pass them on. A passion begins when an activity is selected and valued, leading to its internalization. By sharing the activities you love with your kids from an early age, you show them the positive effects that this passion has on your life.

If your passion is harmonious, they are also likely to associate the activity with something positive. Even if it doesn’t become their primary passion later on, that positive association is stored.

That’s exactly what happened to me with hiking. My parents love hiking, and I have so many good memories associated with it. Even though it’s not my main passion, every time I hike, I feel good and thank my parents for sharing their passion with me.

The key is to never force it. You want your child to feel free to choose an activity rather than feeling pressured. Parental influence can greatly impact a child’s development of harmonious passion, but it should be supportive rather than controlling.

This idea is supported by concepts like Strength-Based Parenting, which involves seeing a child’s potential, looking for their strengths, and emphasizing them. This supportive approach has a protective function against obsessive passion and can positively affect a child’s academic and sporting performance. I was very fortunate to receive this kind of parental support.

Especially in today’s competitive world, teaching kids to be balanced is crucial. I hope to teach my son to cultivate passions so that he never feels completely empty or lost. These passions will always be there to help him believe in himself, organize his thoughts, and find a sense of identity.

Final Thoughts

My journey—from a deeply ambitious professional to a mother learning to balance a new identity—has taught me that passion isn’t just about achieving goals. It’s about finding the harmonious balance that fuels your well-being.

By sharing my love for sport with my son, I’m not just teaching him to ride a bike. I’m giving him the tools to find his own passions, to weather life’s challenges, and to live a truly full and balanced life.