Josh Sidhu
Sep 1, 2018 · 3 min read
What are you passionate about?

“Follow your passion” is stupid advice.

Okay, fine, that’s a little unfair. Often, it is given with the best of intentions, and usually this advice is circulated by those who care about you and have a vested interest in your success. This does not, however, mean that the advice is valuable, or even good. To tell someone to follow their passion might be more destructive than positive. The best way to describe this advice is, too idealistic. For some, following their passion is a great path to success, for others, it will set them up for failure and frustration.

So, if following your passion is out of the question, what can you follow instead? Well, that would be a tough thing to reach a general consensus on. Should you lead with you heart, or your head? Should you just abandon that entirely and follow in the footsteps of someone else? Don’t do that, do these things instead.

Follow your Logic.

If passion is purely from the heart, then logic is purely from the head. Logic is an all-encompassing word that covers your ability to judge information, make accurate decisions, and effectively determine the best course of action. Sure, logic might not lead you into what you want to dedicate your life to, but it will end up give you the best chance to succeed with the ability you have and the situation you are in. Choose careful planning over passionate leaps of blind faith.

Follow your Talent

This is a unique thought, because for a lot of people this is the same as following your passion. But, have you ever stopped and thought about the ways what you like and what you are good at differ? Can you honestly say that what you enjoy the most is what you are most able to do? Maybe you can cook world-class meals form your home kitchen, but you truly love to dance. Maybe you have a knack for quick, smart business decisions, but you want to photograph instead or maybe you love politics, but are a terrible public speaker. That’s fine, we are all bad at some things. Just make sure you do not ignore your talent (and lack of talent!) when trying to find something meaningful to do.

Follow your Effort

Another strange one, but it is entirely possible that what you like, what you are good at, and what you actually spend your time doing are different things. Take this in consideration when figuring out what to do next. If you already spend hours a day honing a particular skill set, and you know from experience that you can consistently dedicate the time, why not go all in? Know where you can and cannot put in significant effort and let that guide you toward greater success.

The main point of the advice “follow your passion” is to ensure that you put yourself somewhere you enjoy. And sure, avoiding becoming a mindless office drone might be important to you, but do not stake you entire career on that advice. What you would like to do is just one element of a gainful and meaningful choice. How your talent relates, the practice you have, and the careful planning you do is what gives you the best chance to make the right choice.

So, maybe the modern version of this advice is a little different from the classic version. Don’t follow you passion, in fact, don’t follow any one particular thing. Plus, things could always change down the line. Something that is dull, or uninspiring today could be your “passion” in the future.

I never thought of blogging as a career, and I still don’t. What I do see, is an opportunity to practice my writing, to share my ideas with the world, to meet new people, and yes, hopefully generate some income along the way. This is not my passion, it is however something that has captured my interest, and I believe, something I can grow to be fairly good at. For now, this is good enough.

I write about productivity and motivation. It’s my dream to launch a full-time blog, so if you want to help me out, follow me! It would be much appreciated.

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