Today at a Glance:

The Internet doesn’t understand Passion.

Anecdote: A Story of Untested Passion

Film Study: No I wouldn’t say I have a passion for HR.

Big Idea: 

Passion is a strange word. Google’s attempt to define passion makes me scratch my head…

For starters, I don’t believe I’ve ever disagreed more with Google on a search result, and second, I don’t ever recall experiencing such a broad range of topics in definitions 1 and 2. We went from emotion to God in less than a millisecond. Technology is clearly not the answer folks.

So what’s up with this idea of passion then? And why is it so confusing?

Well, I hear about it all the time, typically as something we have to find in our lives. Parents often say, “My son just hasn’t found his passion yet,” or, “Oh, she found her passion at an early age; she’s 100% passionate about becoming a doctor” — as if passions must manifest themselves as prestigious professions that heed our parents’ approval.

While it may be true that some are lucky to find their passions in life, I have a different theory for the rest of us. First, that passions are defined as interests we cultivate to the point of providing us with purpose, and second, that passions are not found. That is not to say that we don’t stumble upon interests; I constantly find myself dabbling in a host of unplanned new topics and activities. However, I believe almost no one stumbles upon a passion.

That’s because passions require an immense amount of patience. Someone who’s passionate about finding the cure to cancer has undoubtedly poured thousands of hours into the effort – for little or no reward. To become passionate about anything means we’ve experienced both the joys and misfortunes of an activity, yet still choose to go on. Because passions provide a deeper sense of purpose. This seems to hold up well under pressure: loving parents are passionate about their children and are willing to put up with chronic sleep deprivation; dedicated civil rights advocates are passionate about fairness and are willing to put up with physical danger and even death.

So before you claim you’re passionate about something, ask yourself this question: What fire and flames have you been through in order to keep going? I’m not sure if it’s fair to call it a passion, unless you’ve persevered through genuine hardship to conduct that activity. It might just be a really strong interest, which is completely okay!

Then, my next question: What purpose does this bring to your life that nothing else can?

Because having a passion is hard and it’s really, really rare. And with dwindling attention spans in an instant-gratification world, I see humanity losing the capacity to live with passion – who has the time or care to walk through fire if they can just use a fire extinguisher?

A Story of Untested Passion

Some people want to be doctors. Others are passionate about healing people.

Most of the first bunch don’t make it, and you don’t hear about them because who’s going to tell someone that they gave up? They don’t make it because those who are obsessed with a profession have no greater purpose other than self-service or making their parents happy. That’s just not going to get you through the fire and flames.

Meanwhile, passionate healers are slightly better off because they’ve self-commissioned a sense of purpose. However, their journey’s success is also not guaranteed. Just because you’re purposeful doesn’t mean you have the patience or the skills to make it all the way through.

Let’s start with a friend of mine who did make it — but only barely. Jay and I grew up together, and he’s now a doctor who practices in Southern California. He had a rude awakening when the first of his Organic Chemistry classes decimated him. Jay was always  a hard worker, but here he was, seriously questioning whether he had the ability to go any further. He examined his life, and realized that if he were to stand a chance at med school, he’d have to sacrifice everything socially at UC Irvine. No more time with friends, no more leisure, no more anything. He committed to it, and the rest is history.

However, for every Jay that exists, there are at least 2 that didn’t make it — all equally passionate but untested in that passion. People decide to leave before med school, during med school, and even after completing med school.  Most recently, I even learned of someone who left medicine during residency — yes, that means they had completed practically the entire educational journey and decided to leave anyway. Much of the decision, I hear, was based on the demands of being a doctor and how they couldn’t see themselves doing it anymore.

The reality is not all passions are created equal in terms of how we pursue them professionally. Furthermore, not all passions are meant to be pursued professionally. Lastly, if a passion is so tightly tied to a single profession, then it’s probably not truly a passion but rather an aspirational self-image that one is attached to.

No, I wouldn’t say I have a passion for HR.

-Dan