January 29, 2019

People grow so passions and purpose change

Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Follow your passion. Find your purpose.

What were you ‘passionate’ about at five years old. How about ten years old? 20 years? 30? 45? 60?

I’m guessing that at every stage of life, you, like me, were probably passionate about different things. I remember at ten years old; I wanted to be a Vet. I was ‘passionate’ about animals because I had a dog, some hermit crabs, some guinea pigs and some mice. I wanted to look after them all.

At 16, I was passionate about golf and becoming the best golfer I could be. I was on my way (and had the opportunity) to pursue a career as a golfer if I was willing to work hard enough. Spoiler: I wasn’t willing to do that.

At 20? I was ‘passionate’ about getting a job that paid a lot of money so I could move out of my parents’ house and live independently. I was also ‘passionate’ about travelling.

At 28, I was passionate about design. I was passionate about the power that good software could wield to change the way we live.

It concerns me when I read the ‘advice’ on social media and other news articles about finding your passion, doing what you love, living your best life. It concerns me because it reinforces a romantic, mystical idea that every human being was put on the Earth to do one thing; to be the best at that one thing. To discover some hidden talent that lurks in some mystical fibre of their being, if they only look hard enough. If they could only find it, it’ll change their life and the lives of the people around them forever. When they find ‘it’, they’ll find ‘happiness’, fulfilment, they’ll be able to live a life of no regret. They’ll die happy.

The problem with this advice is that people change and life changes with them. A person may meet different people, live in different places, discover different interests, or change their socio-economic status to name a few. If you ask a new mother what they’re passionate about after giving birth, I’m sure many will say the new life they’re now responsible for. If you asked them the same question 10 years before giving birth, before that new child ever existed, I’m sure the answer would be different.

Passions and purpose change. What’s important to you at ten-years-old might be less important to you at forty. For me, at 28, I was a passionate designer and fully-focussed on being the best designer I could be. At 35, I still love Design, but I also love, with an equal (maybe more) measure, the opportunity to share stories with and improve the literacy of children through my writing and drawing now that I’ve worked hard to create that opportunity for myself.

I don’t know what it’s like for other people. I can only reflect on my own experience. But my journey has shown me that it’s possible to have multiple passions and multiple purposes, either simultaneously or as you change and grow as a human being. That seems OK to me. Shouldn’t we be changing anyway as we learn new things, meet new people, and have new experiences that shape who we are?

So, maybe better advice is to follow a passion or purpose for as long as it’s important for you to do so. Chances are, as you live, you’ll have more than one passion, and that’s OK. Maybe the advice should be to stay open to new experiences, take some pressure off yourself, follow your curiosity, and enjoy the ride. Do we really never want to work a day in our lives, anyway?

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