6 Reasons You Should Rethink Following Your Passions

You are probably guilty of complaining about your job. The person listening to your complaints may have encouraged you to just quit your job and start following whatever your passions were. However, this advice could be extremely detrimental to your mental health and happiness. In fact, while the push to follow your passions makes sense, in theory, the practical aspect can be very harmful and detrimental to anyone’s life. Here are just a few reasons why following your passions is some of the worst advice anyone could give you!

Prioritizing Our Passions Is Hard

Consider everything that you are currently passionate about; are you a music enthusiast and an avid writer? Do you enjoy painting and engineering? Discovering what passions take priority over others can be difficult when there are a variety of interests that bring us immense joy in life. However, discovering what things we are good at and passionate about are the ultimate goal towards making work feel less like a chore and more like an enjoyable experience. Most people can figure out what they are good at in regards to their passions and as a result, can pursue something that they are both passionate about and good at. This is the better advice to give someone who is currently struggling in their career.

All Of Our Passions Will Evolve Over Time

Another reason chasing our passions is a terrible way to live is because they will change. Consider the passions you had 10 years ago, 5 years ago, and currently. Just like boyfriends, our career choices will go through various transitions especially when we are young and eager, capable and curious about trying new endeavors. Therefore, even when you land that dream job that you are passionate about, that passion may fade away over time.

Sometimes We Suck At Our Passions

Very often we love things that we are simply bad at. Consider people who love listening to music but simply can’t keep a tune. Or the football fan who is physically incapable of being on the field on a professional level. Therefore, having beloved activities doesn’t mean that we need to pursue them as career options.

Avoid The Self-Centered Perspective

Doing something you love is a very millennial mindset focused on the “me” instead of the greater “we.” In fact, while it is important to cultivate happiness on our own, we need to consider how we can be of service to the world within our careers. Now, I am not trying to say that we all need to be altruistic and find careers that help others in the traditional idea of providing food to the hungry. But there are ways to view any career as a way that benefits the greater good of the world. As a writer, I like to view my profession as a way to bring people together through the written word. It’s a perspective that focuses on the global “we” versus the “me” that most people focus on.

Our Passions May Not Create Financial Freedom

For many creative artists, following their passions could be a dead-end when it comes to personal finances. In today’s day and age, money is what makes the world go ‘round. While following our passions is a gutsy endeavor, there may not be a huge money pit at the end. Living a good life in the world requires you to have a job that can provide you financial security in order to live a life that you absolutely love. While following your passions is nice, having money in the bank is always nicer. As a result, finding something that can bring you money is something that everyone needs to consider before embarking on a pursuit towards their passions.

We Limit Our Career Options

When we are dead-set on a specific career pursuit, like simply following our passions and nothing else, we lose sight of the immense career options available to us. Being interested in literature does not mean that you have to immediately be a writer and ignore any and all other career options. In fact, you can easily start a new career in any field you desire. Practice makes perfect. By having options available to you as you embark on your journey towards finding a career path that suits you, holding tight onto the pursuit of our passions may not be the best idea to get to the greatest outcome as a result.

In the end, following our passions comes with a lot of challenges if we are doing it for the wrong reasons or if we are simply really bad at our passions. In fact, focusing on how we can contribute to the world through our careers is a better mindset that will immediately bring us happiness. Instead of focusing on following our passions, following our contributions to the world can change the way you think about your career. As a result, focusing on the “we” can bring tremendous happiness into our lives. And who knows, maybe we end up becoming passionate about our contributions and then we are living the dream- doing something we are passionate about while contributing to the world.

Featured image via Vlada Karpovich on Pexels