Is having a passion really that important?
Monday, October 12, 2009 at 10:35AM Based on my experience so far, most of the entrepreneurial personal development books are about "finding your passion" - or defining your biggest interest in life, and then focus on how to turn that passion into a source of income. The goal, of course, is that you could do the thing you love and in the process earn a living. It's a splendid goal to have, don't get me wrong, but is it realistic?
The books usually offer you questions and techniques to find that passion, such as:
- What activity would you do for free, just because you are passionate about it?
- What activity would you pay to do, just because you enjoy it so much?
- If you would win in a lottery and never had to work again, what would you do?
- What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life?
- Who are the people you admire and most want to be like? What interests do they have?
- What specifics do you enjoy? It could be people, computers, working with your hands, teaching, inventing or any kind of combination of multiple things.
The answers that stem from asking these questions would then indicate what your deepest interests and passions are. I actually do believe, that for some people these questions can be helpful and provide valid answers, but then again I also believe that you need to be rather passionate by nature - or able to feel more deeply about things - to really gain some insight from these questions.
You see, I wouldn't call myself a passionate person and that is a problem with exercises like this. I like riding motorcycles, I like snowboarding, I enjoy doing works of art and I am interested in reading and learning. But is any of these activities something I would consider a passion and could not imagine living without? Not really. In some cases it's almost the opposite. I don't believe I would enjoy life that much if most of my time was spent tinkering with Photoshop or reading books.
Another problem is that people change. It's a cliché but it's true. As a teenager being a snowboarder was my identity. It wasn't just something I wanted to do, it was me! It was not only about doing the actual activity, it was the music I listened to, the clothes I wore, the friends I kept, the magazines I read. It was a complete lifestyle and I enjoyed it. Fast forward 6-7 years and I hardly hit the slopes during winter. Not that I wouldn't want to, but there are now other things in my life and snowboarding has lost its importance.
Would you be willing to make a commitment to some passion of yours for the next 5-10 years? Are you sure that your interests won't change in that time?
I have been struggling with these questions since I first became aware of them. I can only identify things I like, but not really things that I'm truly and deeply passionate about. There are also quite a few things I imagine I would have a deep interest in, such as architecture, industrial design and medicine, but the realist in me does not see any options to even verify if that actually is the case; I don't have talent at drawing, and even if I'd get in a medical school it would take six full years before I'd be able to find out whether or not being a doctor is what I want.
The best advice I've come across is to simply be open-minded and try anything that appears interesting. You think gardening might be fun? Go to the library and read a bit more about it. Does it appear even more exciting as your knowledge increases? How about setting a small garden to your yard or balcony or getting a summer job taking care of a public park? Still enjoying it, or is it starting to lose its appeal?
With this approach, passions are seen more as temporary - although quite likely very strong and all-encompassing - interests, and the idea is to pursue whatever excites you at the time while also accepting the fact, that at some point the interest might start to lose its appeal. When that happens, it's not a fault in your character and you shouldn't blame yourself for "not knowing who you are anymore", but instead start the process from the beginning and perhaps find something else that captures your interest.
I would love to hear from people about how they have found their passions, and not just the fleeting ones, but the ones that have stuck for years and are still going strong. How did you discover them, and how do you feel about them? Have your feelings changed over time? Have you thought about ways to turn your passion into a source of income?
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Reader Comments (6)
Great points, Sami! I really enjoyed reading this post. I agree with you, that passions tend to be fleeting, and that you shouldn't blame yourself for not "finishing what you've already started." Have you ever tried reading Foucault? I'm not exactly the biggest fan, but if there's one thing that this controversial philosopher had said for which I will forever be thankful, it's when he said that there is no Self to find -- rather, there is only a self to be made, and re-made. That we should treat our own lives as a work of art, with ourselves as the artists, rather than having society or the concept of "passions" sculpt us. I wrote more about it extensively here, you might be interested in reading it: http://marionsilver.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/the-identity-hunt/
On the flip side, I also believe that each and every one of us has a certain "calling." It takes a while for most people to find out what their "calling" is, but I believe it exists and I believe that sooner or later, you'll find out what it is. And I'd like to say that once you find your calling, it'll inevitably end up as something that you're also passionate about doing. What's the difference? A "calling" to me is your biggest purpose in life. I know for sure that medicine is my calling. I can imagine myself sticking with it for another 10 years and even beyond that. I feel as if I was born to learn as much as I can about the human body, and in the process, help people learn more about their bodies too. If I end up becoming a mom, I would call that my "calling" as well. I don't know if that makes any sense, but I guess my point is, passions tend to be fleeting because more often than not, their primary and sometimes only purpose is just that -- it's just a passion. But a calling has a deeper, all-encompassing purpose, and that's what keeps you grounded.
I don't think you find passions. I think they're just there.
I think passions are just something that connects with you. Something you feel naturally inclined to put more efforts in. Everybody with a brain has a passion. The problem is that sticking to them seems daunting and hard to visualize.
You say: "Are you sure that your interests won't change in that time?".
I'd say the nature of entrepreneurship is that you never know what's next.
There's no way for you to know if what you're doing is right. There's no way for you to be sure you'll stick to it. What matters is that your will to get it done outweighs the regret of not doing this.
You're studying entrepreneurship because nothing resonates in your heart as a passion or it's the one thing that does?
I think the problem you note, that life is full of change, is actually the portal to freedom and opportunity. The opposite of change is a static state. Static states generally lead to depression, lack of creativity, and boredom. We haven't met, but your prose hardly reflects static sentiments. You seem to be rather vivacious!
Sounds like your life is brimming with possibilities, not undergoing a lack thereof.
I always ask myself if I'm lucky because I didn't look for passion, it was always in my heart. Yet when I finished grad school and began a private health care practice I felt stuck and questioning. Here I was, seeing patients thrive with my advice, doing what I set out to achieve, and blam, I was feeling stuck. So I asked myself, how was it that I was helping to employ the change that others were seeking and putting my great education into action, but feeling unsatisfied. It was my passion after all, to become a natural physician.
It was really an opportunity just smacking me in the face. It was a simple message that passion isn't really static and what's so special about it is that it lends itself to flexibility and possibility. I had this ah ha moment where I realized I just needed to match my professional environment more with my personality traits. It's obvious that I love people, yet I also love movement, and have eclectic interests. So from that came my traveling practice and consulting business. Out of passion came insight I suppose. Sometimes when you look in on yourself as the observer, you have these amazing moments where everything becomes clear. And then that just leads you to wherever you're going on the path. The trick is, being open to the possibility of change. Concentrate on the present by acting on your feelings and intuition and you'll naturally be propelled to the next step. If you're an introvert, consider how an extrovert would "try you on" and live your life. A lot of cool things can come from that type of mental mapping (it's a neuro-linguistics thing my NLP friends have taught me).
Life isn't static and either are you. So forget the labels and feel the flow...
Haha, I meant to say, and NEITHER are you.
Thank you all for the great comments!
As to what Karla said, perhaps I haven't found my "calling" yet. I know there are things that are morally right and I enjoy doing such as helping people, and I know I would want to do something that contributes to creating a future where our energy and food are all produced sustainably, with environment in mind.
In NLP (yes, I've read about NLP quite extensively - I even have books about it - and I'm rather skeptical about the whole thing) terms, those present values that are important to me. If I could combine the values with some specifics that I enjoy such as working with people and learning, I would theoretically then be doing work that I am passionate about. Right now, however, I have no idea what that work would be or how to even get involved with something like that.
Heh, looks like I pretty much paraphrased you there, Chrissy :)
I am not studying entrepreneurship because I'm passionate about it, but I study it because I want to keep a mindset that lets me be proactive in pursuing my own interests. It's the kind of "world is your oyster" approach. I think people lose their sight of all the opportunities they could have after they get settled in a particular job.
I know about Ramine that he has a passion to Internet technologies and everything related, but for me it's not that obvious, really. I don't see I have one or two big things I want to do, but instead there are many things that could be interesting - for a while.
Okay, I found another post of yours that I really relate to! Thanks! I am 25 years old and I feel that I've been searching for my "path" since the day I graduated from college. The jobs I've had between then and now have ranged from Copywriter, to Marketing Coordinator, to television programmer, and after a while, I started to hate them all. I decided that couldn't be the right path for me, so my latest venture is looking to obtain a graduate degree in teaching, to teach high school students. After discovering it would take me 6 more years in school, I got discouraged and am back at square one. Although teaching would be great, is it really my PASSION? Would I cut my right arm off to be a teacher? I don't think so. I have many loves- music, singing, writing, food, wine... so maybe if I could be a rock star or a professional food critic, I would be truly happy. I have this sneaking suspicion that I might only be satisfied with careers and hobbies for months or a few years, at most.
At this point, I am tired of always being on the hunt for the "right" thing. I am starting to think there really isn't a "right" or "wrong" path, and I should just chill out and enjoy the ride.