Why Following Your Passion is Bad Advice (and What to Do Instead)
It seems like everyone wants to talk about how following your passion is almost a guarantee to success. “Just follow your passion and the money will follow,” some will say. Others will attribute their biggest successes to the “passion” for their expertise.
I find this answer as a complete cop-out.
Do you think Michael Jordan or Warren Buffet would attribute “following your passion” to their many business decisions or complete mastery in their respective fields?
Absolutely not.
Essentially, we all know passion is an emotion associated with the heart. Unfortunately, as in the case of love, the heart is fallible. Your passions can change on a whim or over time. It ebbs and flows like motivation, and is unreliable as your sole indicator of success.
Example 1: There was once a man that was passionate about his country. He was so passionate that he liberated his people–his entire country–from the British empire.
His name was Mahatma Gandhi, and he was a hero.
Example 2: On the other hand, there was another man who was passionate about his country. In fact he was so passionate that he killed over 6 MILLION Jews and waged war on the world.
His name was Adolf Hitler, and he was a monster.
Are these extreme examples? Yes. But what’s undeniable is that “following your passion” can lead to as disastrous results as it can positive results. You must be cognizant of your actions and not lose yourself in your passion.
Much better advice is “finding your purpose”. Essentially, it is where your interests and your skills intersect. However, while passion focuses on you and what you want, your purpose is what provides value to others. While your passion can change, your purpose doesn’t. You can have many passions throughout life; you only have one purpose.
Obviously, you can say that finding your purpose is easier said than done. However, don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Instead, enjoy the process. Become excited that you get to discover your purpose and have fun along the way.
If you fail a few times during your journey, that’s fine. Learn what you don’t want to try again, as well as what you do. It’s self discovery. It’s going to be a messy process. Instead of looking at the big picture and becoming overwhelmed, focus on just a few small pieces to get you started.
The great Michael Hyatt nailed it perfectly when said to imagine yourself running down a dark path with nothing but a flashlight. He explains you can only see so far ahead of you, but as long as you have the flashlight, you can make your way through. You just need to see two steps ahead, NOT the entire path.
In order to find your purpose, it is VITAL you do one thing: Write your journey down… on paper if possible. Chronicle your journey daily, noting any progress made as well as the challenges you come up with. Pay particular attention to the skills you are building, as well as your excitement level as you try new things. Failure is perfectly acceptable at this point because as stated above, it will be a messy process.
After a while, you will begin to see trends in what you enjoy doing. That’s when the real fun begins. Day after day, skill after skill, you will be able to piece together your purpose. It will be murky at first, but over time your purpose will become more and more specific.
Simply put, following your passion is the wrong way to go, and usually very unhelpful. However, by taking the steps above, you will find something much more meaningful: your purpose.
