The Passion Problem
From an early age we are taught to follow our passion. In my opinion, this is wrong.
My last job was the wrong fit. I knew it from day one. After a company buyout I’d switched from a product manager position to a developer role, and I desperately wanted to get back to what I was doing before. My frustration was no secret, and in the last couple of months at my job I was given a complex task:
Spend some time and figure out what your passion is.
At first, I was caught off guard. No one had ever asked me to do that. I’d just taken opportunities that seemed cool — and somehow, I’d ended up in Product Management. It was no straight path by any means. So I started thinking: Is this type of role my passion? And what are my other passions, besides hanging out with friends, downloading applications, watching movies and playing video games? And really, there must be just one singular perfect passion for each of us, right?
Then I thought I’d figured it out. Product Management had to be my one big passion. It’s what I was working my whole career from graduation to be, and I’d put all of my effort into becoming a PM. Through various circumstances, I was sidetracked from that path — and I’d be damned if I didn’t get back on it.
But then I started to realize something:
We all have more than one passion.
It’s well documented in various writings that life is all about finding your passions and then ultimately choosing the one you are most passionate about. Let’s call it your most Passionate Passion. I’d argue that finding your Passionate Passion is tricky, if not impossible. People may spend their whole lives in pursuit of their Passionate Passion and could end up feeling regret after never finding it. Or worse, they hold up a job title or position on a pedestal and constantly feel unfulfilled throughout their life without it.
However, everyone knows what a couple of their passions are (if that’s how you phrase it). Until recently, I’ve realized that when people love what they do, it can mean mixing multiple passions together to form a “job” that they love. I know plenty of people who are passionate about graphic design, but who also love hand lettering or bespoke crafts — and get to do “all of the above” for their job. That kind of job brings true happiness, but it doesn’t equate to the one singular passion many people strive for.
So how do you find out what you want to do right now?
Go for Opportunities
The best way to find your passions is to take opportunities as they come up, and use your best judgement. Take a risk if an opportunity appears that you feel enamoured by. If the opportunity sounds amazing to you, it could be something you love. If not, you can rule out that as something you want to do. It doesn’t have to be a paying job, or even something that is 9-5. Cast a wide net and try many different things and you are bound to find something that you lose track of time in.
Talk with People
Talk to people and find out how they got to their current job. Take 15 minutes out of someone’s day, buy them a coffee/beer and let them take you through their career. I have had many conversations with people who have opened up my eyes to new possibilities for a career and who will give you a reference/introduction if you just ask. Just email someone…it’s really easy.
Read a Book
Yes, I know earlier I mentioned that a lot of books single out finding your one true passion, but there are some amazing books that have shaped the way I think about my career and life. Here are three of my recent favourites:
How Will You Measure Your Life — Clayton Christensen
Creativity Inc — Ed Catmull
Delivering Happiness — Tony Hsieh
People don’t wake up one day and suddenly find their passion. It’s through experimenting, taking risks, and talking with people do they realize what they could spend the rest of their lives doing. We let children have the freedom to fly and fall, but once they graduate high school we force them to figure their life out in 4 years. We need to let them know that it’s okay to not have everything figured out and to continue to pursue dreams big and small.
Life is a winding road that makes unforeseen stops. So get lost along the way.
