First, listen to the podcast below. It’s short, only 8 minutes. A friend of mine sent it to me and wondered what my thoughts were about it. It’s a fitting topic for me, of course, because one of my stated goals is to encourage others to pursue their authentic goals and passions.
Stop Pursuing Your Passion?
Alright, what do you think? Part of it makes me feel a little guilty. Have I shamed others by telling them to follow their passions? Possibly. I think there is a real danger there in making others feel worthless and lacking of purpose. I often feel this myself as I show up for work everyday doing something that isn’t my “personal passion.”
What is my personal passion? I’m going to be honest that is not a thing I actually think exists for me. I have very broad and ever-changing interests. This is why my blog continues to refine and define itself with every new post. Since passion is a feeling and does change, I want to be flexible to where my new interests take me.
If I know anything about my interests, they will change in the upcoming days, weeks, years, and decades. As a child, I was OBSESSED with sports and knew every detail about every sport imaginable. Early in college, I became interested in filmmaking. I created some very cringe-worthy videos along with some that I still consider to be some of my greatest accomplishments. In the past 5 years, I’ve rarely watched a sporting event or picked up a video camera. Passions and interests changed as my life changed.
I’ve found throughout my 20s that finding my “passion” has produced a significant amount of anxiety, but I’d be foolish to not recognize the opportunities for growth that have been right in front of me. When I dwell on that growth, I’m amazed because I wouldn’t be pursuing my current goals if I hadn’t experienced the past 10 years just as they were.
Finding Growth and Opportunity Everywhere
I wouldn’t be where I am today without my past experiences. Without being a teacher, I wouldn’t have near the confidence to take on future challenges. Without my time at Kwik Trip, I’d still be terrified of strangers. Without having the prospect of owning a business, I wouldn’t have the clarity about what type of business I’d like to run. All these years, I’ve picked up skills and traits that will make me more prepared for achieving future goals.
I say all this while feeling somewhat stuck in my life, but am I really stuck or is there just a world of opportunity right around the corner if I look for it. I’m writing and researching for my book a little every week. I continue to gain more knowledge and skill on the guitar. I seek out opportunities to learn more about financial literacy and am considering ways to positively impact others with that knowledge. What will I do if a new opportunity comes along that seems to pull me away from those activities? I need to be careful because a myopic view could cause me to miss an opportunity to serve others and find a purpose I never expected.
What Starts Your Fire? Get Reignited and Find Opportunity!
If passion is the ignition point, what will ignite your motivation to be the best expression of yourself? What will allow you to be useful and generous while also making you feel fulfilled? I constantly feel torn in multiple directions. What opportunities do I pass up and which ones do I take? How do I take care of myself physically and emotionally while still trying to pursue creative goals? What are my “true” passions?
The podcast reminded me that maybe it’s not actually about passion. It’s not even always about action. It very well might be about mindset and positive motivations. Will I miss opportunities at my current work if I only focus on how to make the next step as an entrepreneur? I will. The next opportunity might very well be right in front of me. I just have to be open to it. Having “pursued passions” and realized I wasn’t as interested as I thought, it makes me realize that having career/goal tunnel vision can be very harmful. It can make you stay in a career you no longer enjoy or leave a career prematurely without allowing for the new opportunities right around the corner.
Should we stop looking for our passions? That’s entirely possible. Instead, maybe we can start looking for opportunities. Opportunities to grow, be more positive, and solve the problems right in front of us.