Finding Your Passion?

July 23, 2018

I just read an article based on a new study. The gist of the article is that while finding your passion is what most hope to do to be successful, success really comes from developing various skills, even ones you are not passionate about. The study was done with undergraduate college students.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/07/23/find-your-passion-thats-bad-advice-scientists-say/?utm_term=.affc0702e94c

In some ways that seems obvious, right? You need a range of skills to see what mix ends up working for you.

But their main point was that those who ONLY focus on what they are passionate about end up dropping it if/when the going gets tough in that area. As if to say that the whole passion search is a waste of time.

But I disagree, and I feel that the study should not detract from the importance of following a passion. Rather, really the study simply confirms what most of us know: even when doing work you love, you have to work at it. It’s never just handed to you easy as pie. And it makes sense to get good at a range of skills, if for nothing more than having a fallback should your passionate industry fall flat.

Anyway, I remain passionate about encouraging people to find their passionate work. And I remain passionate about advising those same to plan on some hard or challenging work to get there!

Michael