In one of my recent articles I published on this blog, people repeatedly commented they had no clue how to ‘find their calling’ or their ‘passion’. I therefore though I’d provide people with some more advice to this.
Now let’s get one thing straight right here… ‘find your passion’ is the single most terrible piece of advice there is and odds of it ever helping you are lower than a priest and a stripper going on a date.
But why is this?
To begin with, the word ‘passion’ is not an actionable word. Most of us don’t even have the slightest clue what it means, what it’s supposed to mean, or what it looks like.
If you look up the definition of ‘Passion‘, the second definition you get is; ‘the suffering and death of Jesus’. Now, if you believe in Jesus or not, is completley irrelvant with the point I’m about to make. What is important, is the word SUFFERING.
If you read my happiness article, which by the way, is the most viewed article on this blog, then you know that life is about a constant suffer that we create through solving our problems. Why? Because problems are the single constant in life that we all have. The key lies in choosing the problems we want to solve in order to create a meaningful life.
Let me ask you this…
What are you willing to suffer for? What problems are you willing to solve in life? What problems do you enjoy solving?
This should make you think a little.
If it doesn’t, here is a more radical approach…
What SHIT do you ENJOY eating? What DIRT are you willing to eat?
By now you should understand that life is basically constructed of suffering and pain. That’s it. All we have to do is choose what pain we enjoy enduring.
Many people believe that passion is something to be found through some sort of cosmic journey or something they find whilst stepping out of bed in the morning.
It’s not! And it’s unlikely to change any time soon!
Your ‘passion’ or ‘calling’ is simply the result of your daily problems you solve. And once you become really really really good at solving your problems, your enjoyment for solving problems will manifest itself into your passion. Passion, therefore, is an end-result. It is like profit in a company. It’s what you get out of the constant ‘sufferage’ of solving problems you enjoy solving.
In case you have no clue how to answer some if these questions above, don’t stress out just yet! Here are some things you can do…
- Try things. Try as many things you think you MIGHT enjoy. Internships, jobs, university courses, reading different book genres, different sports etc. Try stuff!
- Travel. Seriously, get out there and experience as much as you can. By being exposed to the world, you get to see and be inspired by things you will could have never thought of. I understand you may be tight on money and that you have a family at home. But just remember this: If something is important enough, you will make it work, no matter what. And if you don’t, well then, stop complaining.
- Read. Literally, read as much as you can. If you don’t like reading plug in an audiobook or watch a documentary. Remember, it’s about being exposed to as many things as possible, so that one of these things can possibly stimulate or evoke feelings of euphoria inside of you.
- Be patient. Nothing will happen over night, and no, nothing is likely to happen within the next 3 months. Finding something you truly believe in takes TIME! So don’t freak out just yet. Be patient and always remind yourself of it. 🙂
Hope I could help 🙂
Thanks for reading,
I literally just commented that i struggle with the questions of calling on your previous post! This is great advice. Requires a lot of reflection… Its an Interesting way to put up the question of “passion”! Thank you for the post!
Thank you for reading! 🙂
Thanks Max. I really needed to see this post today! I have been questioning about my life long suffering and now it makes sense.. May be.. just may be.. my passion is something greater than I can imagine.
Your welcome! Thanks for swinging by 🙂
Thanks Max! This is seriously all there is to it. Hey readers, trust me. I should know, that’s my story. The girl who wanted to try and do it all.
Thank you! 🙂
What are you willing to suffer for!? What a wonderful question to ask at any stage of life, but especially young adulthood.
Absolutely! Thanks for the read! 🙂
You mean the sand thing? Wouldn’t recommend sampling the soils old the earth to test it just thought it would seem interesting.
ECHO ECHO
Thanks for the advice.
Welcome! 🙂
My old Grandpa put it this way, “Find what you enjoy doing and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” he didn’t mean I didn’t have to work, just find that thing you enjoy doing and it’s not that dirty four letter word “Work” anymore. It’s fun!
That’s a great philosophy! 🙂
A lot of questions today. I do try things, travel and read. Sometimes I manage to be patient even. This is unfortunately not enough to make me enjoy sorting out the problems I have on my day. Professional and personal. Without knowing what I do, do you reccomend to make an U-turn and start from scratch? Not that I’m going to do it, don’t worry, but I do want to know your point of view…
Okay, I’m pretty sure you were being symbolic about the dirt thing but I want it on record that dirt is pretty bad, but sand is much better. Not like good but much preferred to dirt which in turn is better than certain recipes I’ve tried of human food. Ultimately all life is about not dying in my opinion. If you can manage that for a little while then you can maybe try your hand at being happy or finding something worth living for. Personally I enjoy stringing words together and pretending they have meaning, you know acting like I know what I’m talking about.
ECHO ECHO
Interesting opinion 👍😊
what problems do I like solving? Ones that present enough challenge that I get a sense of accomplishment for solving them, or at least attempting them. Or ones that allow me to be creative in the solution. I wonder if it’s less about the type of problem as the scope of the solution 😉
Great point! Great delivery!
Have you read “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: a Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life”? Your post sounds like it came directly from this book. 😊
It did 🙂