Passion
noun
– an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.
– a thing arousing great enthusiasm.
Calling
If you’re asking yourself what your passion is or why you can’t seem to find it, chances are:
- you don’t have a true passion
- you have multiple passions or interest but don’t know which one to choose
- you’re asking yourself how your intrest(s) should relate to what you do for a living.
If you’re wondering how to go about this: don’t move! I might have found some pointers you never considered until now.
Passion
Why do you want to find your passion? Is it really important to have a passion? Or are you just convinced you need to find it because there seems to be a lot of pressure on it and importance to it? Let’s skip an endless discussion and come up with a practical solution: as long as you haven’t found it, stop looking for it and do other things. At the end of this article some related subjects are linked that can bring your attention to other things beside passion to help you have a good life. (That is if you don’t have a passion. If you have one, it’s fulfilling and you’re able to make a living, keep doing that, please.)
If you can’t really put the finger on it, go with what you know that intrests you AND try some new things from time to time. It’s through messing around and doing things you haven’t done that you actually get to know new things what intrests you. Getting out of the comfort zone from time to time as they say, but not being reckless and going way to far out of that zone since that can become very counterproductive very quick. The hardest part about engaging in most things is getting started. Just go ahaid and try. You might be surprised with what you like.
Refuse to choose
With all the people focussed on “finding your passion” and “doing what you love”, we sometimes tend to forget that we have the option to do multiple things and multiple ways to do things. So if you ever feel limited by your own convictions and assumptions regarding what to do, consider this: “do I really have to choose or are there ways to combine a lot of the interests I have?”.
The sad news is, you will have to figure it out for yourself to see what suits you. The good news is: there is a lot of help out there and you probably won’t have to choose in a way you imagined.
The book that helped me a lot is “Refuse to Choose” by Barbara Sher.
In it you’ll discover:
- There’s nothing wrong with you for not wanting or being able to choose.
- You don’t have to do anything the way anybody “tells” you to (or society expects you to)
- There are ways to cope with the anxiety that can come with choice – most decisions aren’t life or death.
- There are ways to get to do what you want to do instead of what you think you have to do – how to be less busy and do more
- There are ways to overcome what’s blocking you to start
- There are multiple ways to finish things – maybe you already got what you were looking for
Another very interesing video on changing the common rationale
If you want to look for more: search for “multi-talent” or “creative generalist”
I think you’ve gotten the message by now right: “Do what works for you and stop trying to find something you might not have or need. Stop trying to find what can’t be found when actively looking for it. Finding your passion ”
Love
On the matters of making a living: should I try to love what I do or do what I love? How about you should ACT / DO in the first place, see where it takes you and adjust from there. If you do something and get better at it, chances are you will like / love it more.
If you’re having trouble choosing what you should do for a living, I would again urge you to be practical about it. There’s no point in holding on to “enjoying what you do” if you’re not able to keep doing it. On the other hand, being creative on how to get by, can open a lot of new perspectives.
Some (most?) people are not that lucky to get endless time, support and chances to find ways to make a living out of what they (think they) love (or want to do). If you are lucky enough, good for you. If you’re not, getting any job to support you shouldn’t stop you from trying to find a way to combine making a living and loving what you do. Find temporary balance. Know that a lot of how you feel, also depends on how you look at it. Do what works and feels good (enough). Always try to keep in mind where you are trying to get.
Common mistaken assumptions
Here are some commonly mistaken assumptions Barbara Sher lists in her book that can be very useful know. When you identify them as mistaken, they can help getting past being stuck in the uncertainty of choice:
- You must choose one and only one path in life.
- Everything you love has to be a career. Doing Something for pleasure doesn’t count.
- If you’re not in love with your job, it will be a living hell.
- You have to get it right, because every career choice requires a huge investment of time and money.
- Once you make your choice, you serve a life sentence with no chance of parole.
- If you’re not passionate to the point of obsession, you’ll never be ocntent to give up all you other interests.
Jack of some trades – homo somewhat universalis
So why do I care about this?
Have you ever heard of a jurist that does plumbing? A computer reseller that’s also a day care provider? A logo designer that sings? That’s all me. And eventhough I only sing in the shower or when I’m in the crowd of a concert, I sing with so much passion you would believe it’s actually someone singing in the shower with a whole lot of passion.
And yes, I went to law school, worked as a jurist and have my own plumbing business now. I sold computers while at university, made websites, was head counselor of a local playground during holidays. I also draw logos and other things, I fabricate all kinds of stuff and love to fiddle from time to time. So no, I don’t do all those things full time at the same time. I don’t do them all for a living. I am interested in a lot of things, I abandon intrests very quickly sometimes, I have periods where I switch much more than what’s efficient. But who cares, right? To be honest, it took me a while to get there and I was glad I found recognition. I hope in sharing the information I found, other people can find some rest in who they are and how they do things.
Note: the questions what I want to do with my life and how I should devide my time between all my interests keeps coming back, but these insights help me be less anxious and get over them much faster.
Related
Here are some related things, possibly more interesting and relevant than passion (alone) to get to where you want to get in life:
Growth mindset
Willpower
GRIT
FLOW
Compassion