Passion is a word that we see get used constantly when it comes to people talking about work. It’s a word that we are encouraged to feel but in no way are we allowed to say it in a job interview, because it’s a tell tale sign that you’ve just been reading up on “answers to job interview questions”, instead of being genuinely interested in the job or company.
Passion. In 2021 when we have an abundance of different hobbies, activities, things to do, and depending on where you live (right now) places to go, how is it people are finding one or two things to be passionate about? It is so difficult to find your passion, and don’t let anybody tell you it isn’t!
I mean INTERESTED, what’s wrong with that? Why do we have to add such emphasis to things we’re interested in and calling it passion. Is this just me? Maybe I’m the only person without a passion… maybe I’m the only person who doesn’t have an intense interest in one particular thing, in this day and age and watching hustle culture, it really makes me feel like I am, but I know I’m not, I know it.
So tell me why we are so pressured to find a passion and to turn our passion into our work? I’m in a job, a job I really like, I don’t love it because at the end of the day it’s work, it’s a job, I work there because I have to pay my bills and I enjoy working with the people I work with. However, just like any job there are issues, some days when I’m unhappy doing what I’m doing, and some days where I have extreme imposter syndrome. That doesn’t mean I can’t be good and develop in my work, but do we really have to have a passion to have accelerated rate of development?
Especially in the field of technology, as a developer it’s extremely easy to believe that everybody working in the field has abundant energy dedicated to learning, contributing to open source, attending dev meetups and keeping up. But it can’t be true, just where are people getting this energy?
The feeling of inadequacy is honestly so unnerving and so constant that it starts to make you feel lost and unmotivated. The struggle is ultimately an internal one, a struggle with comparison and running in other peoples races.
So don’t listen to others when they compare you to others, because you can develop in whatever you want to develop in. The journey isn’t the same for everyone, and the expectation of where you are supposed to be isn’t the same for everybody.
Don’t turn the word “passion” into your enemy. Don’t force yourself to feel passion, but do thing ways to be motivated that don’t make you feel like you’re drowning.
