Follow Your Passion but…

“Follow your passion” as a blanket statement is unhelpful career advice.

 

In his 2012 book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, author Cal Newport traces the origins of the phrase “follow your passion” as it relates to career or vocation. It was thought to be popularized relatively recently by the 1970 publication What Color Is Your Parachute? Author Richard Bolles was working for the Episcopal Church at the time advising campus ministers in danger of losing their jobs. His advice was relatively straightforward and will sound familiar: “[Figure] out what you like to do…and then find a place that needs people like you.” The idea was radical, but it caught on in time: Pursue what you love, you are in control of what you do with your life. According to Time Magazine, Bolles’ book is one of the all-time 100 best non-fiction books, and the website claims it’s “the world’s most popular and best-selling career guide” with over ten million copies sold over fifty years.

 

Clearly, the book struck a chord. Without having read it, I am ill-equipped to either support or negate its claims. Passion is often identified as a mystical and nebulous force. Like the wind, no one knows where it comes from and where it goes. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines passion as, “intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction.” There is a place for this type of passion when it comes to being fulfilled, but it may be different than what we think. Maybe it’s time to reconsider whether or not “follow your passion” is helpful advice when it comes to our career path. The question isn’t whether or not passion is important; the question is how and where does passion fit into our overall purpose?

 

Some passions are meant to be pursued and enjoyed in a deeply personal way, apart from your career or vocation, while other passions are meant to be aligned with your career. In his 2009 Ted Talk “The Puzzle of Motivation,” with over 29 million views, Dan Pink argues that “passion is a side effect of mastery.” In other words, the more you hone and sharpen your strengths and talents (that also bring you joy), the more your passion grows. While both vocational passions and personal passions are important parts of your purpose, they need to be differentiated.

Instead of trying to answer the daunting question of “What’s your passion?” it’s better simply to watch what you do when you’ve got time of your own and nobody’s looking. (Daniel Pink)

It’s easy to think you need to do everything you love for a living. I love outdoor activities like walking, running, mountain biking, hiking, and skiing, but that doesn’t mean you will find me trekking around the world writing articles for Outdoor Magazine as a career.

Here’s a quick exercise to help you think it through:

Write down three personal passions and three vocational passions. How do they align? How do they differ? In what areas of your life do they apply: volunteer work, career, or hobbies?

Our passions are an important part of fulfillment and purpose, but they don’t all need to be a part of our careers.

​
​

PS – If you enjoy my writing and feel it’s adding value to you, consider leaving a tip >>

*Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash