Follow Your Passions! And... Just WHY Should We Do That?
Unless you've been living under a rock, it's a good bet that someone has come along in your life and given you this piece of advice:
Follow Your Passions!
I've certainly been told that on a number of occasions; sometimes welcome, sometimes not. Even though I am starting to turn a bit gray about the edges, I'm still not entirely sure what people intend, when they say that.
Vintage sailboat
What are the implications?
Of course, in most cases, these words are intended as "career advice," often suggested to those who seem to be at a crossroads in their working life, perhaps questioning whether they really should continue with their corporate job... or strike out on their own. Perhaps they are spoken to someone who's in mid-career as an accountant and are considering "giving it all up" to pursue their dream of becoming a painter or writer.
Passions Aren't Always Practical...
Whenever I have gotten that piece of advice, I've always paused to consider the functionality of it.
Close-up of red flowers
Just because we are "passionate" about something doesn't mean that our passion is marketable, in the employment sense of the word. I'm pretty passionate about sleeping, but that doesn't mean I'm going to land a great job snoozing.
"Intent" becomes pretty important here.
Specifically, is our intent in following our passions purely there for its own sake? Or do we need to consider "making a living" as part of the equation? Because if we don't, then following our passions becomes a whole lot easier.
Then again, sometimes you just have to be creative! There are often ways to turn even the most unlikely passions into a profession.
Personally Speaking...
I have been mostly "following my passions" since 1997.
Close-up of California Poppy
In doing so, my primary observation would be this: Following your passions is extremely rewarding, but don't think for a minute that means it will also be easy.
My passions are writing, "finding things" and creating art of various types.
Until Steemit, however, I had never made more than about $3,000 a year from writing. It was one of those interesting paradoxes: I was often told my writing was "brilliant" and invited to submit to many publications... but the moment I pointed out I actually expected to get paid... suddenly nobody was interested anymore.
I'm also passionate about painting, but art is sadly not something most people can ever make a living at, so I have primarily focused on the enjoyment of it.
And then there was "finding things." Yes, that's a real passion of mine-- especially beach combing. And for a while, I actually scraped out a decent living finding old glass, pottery, interesting rocks, driftwood. shells and other things to sell to artists who work with "found objects." In a sense, it was a dream come true... but it lasted only a few years till "the world" caught on to the idea that money could be made and the market quietly "went away" when people started tossing trash into rock tumblers and pretending they had genuine "found objects."
But it was fun while it lasted.
So Why SHOULD We Follow Our Passions?
We should follow them for their own sake, because it makes us feel good about our lives, and our place in them.
Branches with sun and rain
We should not follow our passions to make money. Maybe that sounds counterintuitive, but for the most part people tend to LOSE their passions when they suddenly have to put too much focus on "making money." Don't misunderstand here, nothing wrong with making money from your passions... but here's the key takeway:
Focus on your PASSION, let any money be a consequence.
If you focus on the money, you stop being authentic because your mind goes to a wrong place. Trust me on that one-- been there, done that! And there are few things sadder than "losing" something you really love doing because it has become a drag.
How About YOU? Are you following your passions? If not, why not? What's holding you back? If you ARE, how is it working out for you? Are you glad you made the choices you did? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
created by @zord189
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180217 17:43 PDT
Passion for doing something is important for deriving more meaning in life. But there are also "higher consciousness" things that give great meaning as well, but can be troubling or hard to get into, like a pursuit of truth for our own betterment and the betterment of everyone. I am getting back into that more "impersonal" aspect of my life, after I pursued development of my personal life that I ignored for so many years in favor of devotion to truth. Getting involved in a romantic relationship is a great passion to have as well :) heheh.
I was passionate about truth for a decade, and finally made money on Steemit from it, earning my way up in popularity, only to have the time I built earning my way to the top taken from me as a I stood my ground for principles of fair and honest behavior on Steemit about allowing people to build their brand and earn their way. Sometimes fighting for your passion backfires in an unjust system that allows wrong-actions without consequence, and only you suffer for trying to keep what you earned (reputation, status, popularity, etc.).
Going with the flow of the majority, not rocking the boat, going along to get along, can often get you ahead of others who stand for more principled and just ways of doing things. I learned what happens here when you take on the wrong-actions of the powerful rich users that most people blindly support for various reasons.
Follow your passion, but know that other people might not like you for the success you garner as a result of being appreciated for what you do. Sometimes we need to let go of one passion to allow room for another, as I did with a personal relationship, which I'm happier for doing :) And that also includes letting more care for truth into our lives as a form of passion, rather than only focusing on personal passions of various kinds.
I could say SO much about this, but I'll try to keep in manageable.
I know you worked hard to be heard concerning freedoms and people's rights to fair and equitable treatment in this community and some simply would not have it that way. It's an illustration of one of the things about humanity that has always concerned me: a significant-- if not majority-- segment of the population are more concerned with personal gain than taking "right action." And when that is challenged, it becomes more important to them to be right than to be just and fair.
Those particular territorial skirmishes continue, of course. Somehow, they seem to fade more and more as the user base grows; new large investors come in and shrink the relative weight of the "old" players. In spite of its possibly idealistic roots, Steemit emulates life, complete with all the "characters" we find out and about. Inequity and unfairness continues...
It makes me happy to hear your relationship is bringing you a measure of passion/happiness/contentment; it's something that's hard to place a value on. But I do, and quite highly... having worked through several dead ends and personal issues detrimental to solid relationships before my wife and I reconnected (we knew each other as kids) in 2003.
Here is an image/text from facebook I just came across, it partly says what I was saying in the above comment regarding higher consciousness passions:
There tends to be two kinds of people who tell me this said advice.
I say let your hobbies and spare times be filled with things you have passion for. If they turn into more than a hobby great. If not they are still your hobby and you get enjoy them part of the time.
And hence I suggest "let your passions LEAD."
It's fine to be able to make money from your passions, but they have a way of turning from something you really like to something that's basically a drag when you start "expecting" to profit from them.
Those people who enjoyed "against all odds" successes grate on my nerves because they view reality through such a narrow lens of perception, and yet they can't see how their world wouldn't apply to everyone. Huge cognitive blind spots...
I am definitely following my passions these days. I like to create and share my ideas. I don't think it matters if it is writing, video, audio, etc. I just like to communicate what I think about the world. Sometimes that makes money. Sometimes it doesn't.
I think you are wise to examine the refrain people saying "follow your passion." The career/money aspect can be a point of contention for sure. Following your passions is damn simple if you don't expect remuneration. But I, like you, expect to be paid if I am helping someone else build their business or brand.
Great writing as always. I'm always impressed with your work.
(P.S.: Upvote is inbound. You are on my Steemvoter now, because your work is always top notch.)
Hi Chris, thanks for the supportive words!
Yes, it's much easier when we don't give a flip as to whether it makes money or not. I have probably shared twenty million words for free, but it never stopped me from writing... it happens to be a delightful thing that there's a reward here, but it's not-- and never will be-- the determining factor. Art is a little different because there's a cost of supplies there... and I'd sort of "expect" to at least be able to make that back, otherwise it gets depressing.
Follow your passions by all means, but maybe not all the way to the poorhouse. Sometimes things that are not fun at all are the most financially rewarding, and sometimes pleasure should be deferred. Weigh the opportunity costs.
I've always tried to be reasonable about it. Some things just aren't meant to be "income producing," and I have no interest in blindly pursuing some dream... to the poorhouse. The fact that I actually managed to make a living from beach combing for four years was completely unexpected and not something I would ever "set my clock by," so to speak.
I am sorely tempted to buy a metal detector with some of my Steemit earnings for some serious beachcombing and prospecting. I've been reading up on which models might help find gold deposits that form in creeks in the mountains here.
You just never know till you try. Those guys with the "potato patch" near Liberty, WA keep hauling giant nuggets out of the ground. There was an old seaside dump here... and people keep finding random bits of jewelry on the beaches here, even 60 years after it was shut down.
Hello wee SteemKitten; sorry your cute shenanigans will not be continuing....
I agree with you that passion is not always marketable. For example, I am passionate about taking care of children, but I know that cannot support me and my family, so I have to work my ass off at my present work though I don't really like it.
We have to do what we have to do to keep our lives going. I'm a writer, but I have never depended on writing to keep me afloat. I'd love to be able to... but it seems unlikely (unless I suddenly get some unexpected "whale" friends here on Steemit-- LOL), and I'm OK with that.
I'm reconnecting with my passion and discovering new ones on Steemit.
I' m learning Photoshop and using my camera more.
Very cool!
I think we can learn a lot from interacting on a global social site like this.
Steemit definitely rekindled my passion for blogging.
Very deep topic. Thanks for posting. I have benefited a lot from it, I will watch your forthcoming publications @denmarkguy
#restem your post
Thank you.
to this I would say several things:
a) rules for what makes money and how we go about it change now very quickly
b) making money from our "passion" or "art" can corrupt our original intentions for loving these pastimes (obviously? but not always)
c) if what we love is corrupted by how we make our living, very deep analysis is required.
d) if we can do both make a good living, and do what we love, without internal conflict, I would say GO FOR IT!
What I really mean to say is: It is now possible to consider a new way of life not previously known, and just because it did not pay well the first year or 2, does not mean that situation will continue for those that see their way clear to devote their lives to it. ;-)
Steem goes to $100 and then?
On the one hand I am following my passion. My passion is writing fiction. I just now wrote a fiction story and posted it to my blog.
On the other hand though, I still have to work to pay my rent and my TRUE passion is really........ not working for someone else.