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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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