“Finding Your Passion” Isn’t as Simple as it Sounds
Finding your passion isn’t the only missing piece of the puzzle that unlocks the key to success
Throughout the history of online publishing, there’s been an overwhelming abundance of self-help articles and advice-geared articles that are flooding the internet, revolving around the topic of “finding your passion”. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve read an article only to get to the bottom of the page and find out that “finding your passion” ended up being the main takeaway. And I’m not just talking about articles here on Medium — it’s everywhere.
Want to find out the key to landing your dream job? All you have to do is find your passion.
What’s the secret to happiness? Easy, just find your passion!
How do you find your purpose in life? You have to go and find your passion.
Time and time again, I am hit with the same exact advice. And as well-intentioned as they may seem, these articles don’t really end help helping me out that much at the end of the day. That’s because the truth is, “finding your passion” isn’t quite as simple as it sounds. It’s much easier said than it is done and to be frank, I myself am guilty of loaning out this exact advice and look at where’s it gotten me — I’m still lost.
However, the thing that most authors often tend to leave out in their passion-driven advice, myself included, is that finding your passion isn’t the only missing piece of the puzzle that unlocks the key to success.
It’s knowing what to do once you’ve found it.
It’s posing the question of, “How do I make a career out of my passion once I’ve identified it?” and “What kind of careers are out there for me to be able to incorporate the things that I’m passionate about?”
Most of us would love to wake up eager to go to a job that we’re extremely passionate about, but that’s honestly not the case for the majority of us. And that’s because many of us, myself included (yet again) tend to separate our passion from full-time work. And that’s okay.
We don’t all necessarily have to work in the field of the thing that we’re passionate about. We can work a job simply to support ourselves financially and save our passion projects for the side — that’s what I do, at least. And I’m okay with that. Although I’ve identified the things that I’m passionate about, I’ve also made the conscious decision to shove my passion projects to the sidelines while I sort of my finances first.
But, if you feel that you do have a calling, if you do know the direction that you want to go in, then, by all means, go confidently in that direction. Learn from others who have done it, do your research, make a ton of sacrifices. Do whatever it takes to make it work. It not a matter of “Is this possible?”, it’s a matter of “How do I make this possible?” and I’m afraid that is the hardest part of the journey.
