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“Do it with passion or not at all” and a thousand other quotes talking about finding one passion to pursue for your entire life: passion had become the modern definition of success. Do not worry if you have not figured out what your passion is. There are a lot of people out there and a wide range of tests that will do that for you. Relax, take a seat and wait for them to tell you more about it. I surely believe in doing what you love, yet I also strongly believe that no one can tell you what to do with your life. The pressure that tests, social media and some people who “made it” put on teenagers, graduates or any group range strips the word passion from its meaning. Passion is important, but it is not the magic pill that will solve your problems; therefore, our lives should not revolve around having one single passion to pursue.
The idea that there is one passion to pursue is not accurate, for we experience a lot of things in life. There is always a potential for developing a passion toward anything we experience: from listening to a new genre of music to engaging in a new activity or even developing a passion toward things you would like to experience, such as traveling and exploring new cultures. The point is that there are endless possibilities when it comes to passion. During quarantine, a lot of people, including myself, started various activities of which they became passionate, such as cooking, learning to play a musical instrument, or learning a new language. Therefore, why would one choose to limit himself to one single passion? In her book, “101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think” Brianna Wiest said that “you’re allowed to be great at a lot of things that don’t necessarily relate to one another: you’re not limited to just one purpose, one talent, one love”. It is not about ditching your university degree to do something you love more. You can be passionate about medicine, music, dance and sports all at the same time.
Passion is not the only motivation in life and thinking so may lead to self-destruction. Passion is said to be the ultimate motivation in life, alongside a lot of other benefits, which I am not denying. However, life can have unpleasant surprises for us. When this happens, all of our skyrocketing expectations will hit the ground. I am not saying that one should leave in fear that something bad will happen. I am not also saying that one cannot set expectations. On the contrary, fear should not limit us. When you want motivation in life, do not look for a passion to be that motivation. Be the motivation for yourself. Everything in life is uncertain. If an athlete had an accident, and his motivation was passion he might be destroyed emotionally; whereas, if his motivation was himself, he will find a way to perform this activity in a different way. The key here is to identify whether your passion is destructive or not. There are two types of passion: obsessive and harmonious (Muha, 2017). Obsessive passion is when someone is doing something he loves for the sake of recognition, not self-satisfaction. Harmonious passion is when someone does what he loves and does not care about the prize. A lot of people love what they do a lot of them burn themselves for it.
Try to find what passion means to you. The Merriam Webster defines passion as an intense, driving, overestimating feeling or conviction. “Influencers” on social media define passion each his way. Keep in mind that you can be inspired by how some of them see passion, but also remember that they are not always right. Their thoughts come from what they have experienced, or from a book they are trying to sell. I guess here comes useful a tip we often hear from our parents and that is not to believe everything on social media platforms. Most of the people who call themselves influencers nowadays are only influencing harmful ideas. Though it is not the subject of discussion, but we should understand that their living, traveling and luxury come by marketing products for their followers. In this article, passion is defined as a feeling like any other. We hate, we love, we get angry, and we develop a passion. Therefore, like every feeling change, passion changes. Interpret passion in the way you find convenient: it can be a feeling, a motivation or nothing at all.
We should also keep in mind that a lot of people who “don’t have passions” have succeeded in their careers through hard work and discipline and this is what almost every self-help book and motivational speaker mentions. It is not necessarily about doing anything with passion. It is about being true to yourself no matter what you are doing. It is about looking at your reflection and recognizing yourself. It is not about standing out by winning a Nobel or an Oscar it is about being in the place you want to be in. It is not always by listening to people or looking for definitions in a dictionary that you will find answers (unless you are translating a text, even here you still have to understand the context and make a choice). It will take time and you will not find answers easily. Next time, instead of pressuring yourself, start by taking small action, have experiences and embark on adventures. The possibilities are endless, and the result might quite surprise you…