Passion: How To Pursue What You Love In Work And Life
September 03, 2015By: Anna Agoncillo
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| Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain) |
I had an interesting conversation with my sister the other
day. It started casually with me asking her a simple question: "Are you
willing to do everything in the pursuit of what you love?"
In no time, my teenage
sister answered without hesitation: "I am willing to take the risks and
take on new adventures in order to get what I love. It is because I want to do
something that will make me happy." As a university student who majors in
Management and Communication, she added: "It is the economics of life that states - higher
risk is equal to higher return."
At first I was amazed that she grasped the topic with
seriousness and maturity. It dawned on me how every choice I made led me to
what I am impassioned about. It is a sad truth that many people drag themselves to work to do something they are not fond of just to get enough money to survive. This is why I consider myself blessed to be able to wake
up everyday and do something I deem as fulfilling and
meaningful.
If there is one thing that I can impart with my future self, I will
ask her to continue pursuing what she deeply desires. Only then can I pour my 100% to the task.
Dedicating your life in search for that one thing you love
and value the most is paramount. Even Philosopher Dan Dennett claims that it is
the secret to unlocking happiness. But,
how does one find it exactly?
Fulfillment can be fueled by choice and curiosity however, arriving at your true calling takes a complicated and a highly personal route
of discovery. Even my mother agrees that it took her years to find the
occupation that she really enjoys. In fact she told me the two days ago:
"Sometimes I get exhausted but, I still feel inspired to continue on each
day."
So, if you are lost with no motivation whatsoever, here
are nuggets of wisdom that literary geniuses have imparted:
1. HOW TO DO WHAT YOU LOVE BY PAUL GRAHAM
In his 2006 article called: "How To Do What You Love", Graham imparted these sage
words:
"What you should not do, I think, is worry about the opinion of anyone beyond your friends. You shouldn’t worry about prestige. Prestige is the opinion of the rest of the world. Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you’d like to like."
If you are doing things solely to gain prestige, honor, or
recognition then, you are obviously wasting precious time. Prestige is
particularly dangerous to the ambitious - they get hooked too much with attaining
it that they ignore their present selves. The ambitious are willing to
serve on committees, write lengthy essays, and talk bad at someone's expense
just to be on top.
So, if you want to pursue your purpose, for the love of
everything that is good…avoid prestigious tasks! Who likes kiss-ups anyway?
2. THE GIFT BY LEWIS HYDE
In order for you to understand what makes satisfies your
soul in terms of occupation, you must understand the difference between work
and labor. A writer, critic, and translator named Lewis Hyde argues that work is an activity that you intend to accomplish through the will
while, labor has its own schedule. In a sense, he echoes the opinion of
Positive Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who distinguishes work from labor
through a term called flow.
For instance, if you stayed overnight to finish a song
composition you are inspired to do then, you have experienced the flow and
creative labor. The flow happens when you lose track of time and others around
you because you feel that you are a part of something larger than yourself. You
are in the zone!
Finding the occupation you are passionate about will ignite
the zone and let your creative juices flowing. And, in that zone, you will be
unstoppable.
3. IGNORE EVERYBODY BY HUGH MACLEOD
In Hugh Macleod's book called "In Ignore Everybody:And 39 Other Keys to Creativity" he imparts credible and knowledgeable advice
form his years in the creative scene. He scribed these words:
"Art suffers the moment other people start paying for it. The more you need the money, the more people will tell you what to do. The less control you will have. The more bullshit you will have to swallow. The less joy it will bring."
His opinion is resonant to my own beliefs of importance of personal choices and setting up societal boundaries. Simply, the best way to give your
all and attain the approval of yourself (or others) is not to need it.
It may seem like a paradox for a moment but, when you allow others to dictate your decisions and movements then, you will lose a fraction of yourself. You will lose the freedom of choice too.
It may seem like a paradox for a moment but, when you allow others to dictate your decisions and movements then, you will lose a fraction of yourself. You will lose the freedom of choice too.
I know a lot of people who were not the brightest students at school but shined brilliantly in their careers. They followed their dreams and poured every ounce of sweat, heart, and soul to it everything they do.
I shall conclude this post with a quote from Steve Jobs:
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