Why Pursuing Your Passions is Overhyped

Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” But should we be cautious when taking his advice? During a recent conversation with my mother about my very uncertain future, I noticed a remarkable difference in the way we each approached choosing a career. Throughout the years, I’ve heard many times the importance of finding my passion and pursuing it. Living in a time in which career opportunities are vast and virtually anything can become a job, it has always seemed rather unreasonable not to pursue a career I strongly admire. Conversely, my mother had never approached choosing a job as a matter of selecting the right option, but rather taking the opportunity as it presented itself. Growing up in Soviet Russia, she wasn’t endowed with the same opportunities that I enjoy. Because she had a family to provide for, job satisfaction was never a priority. Compared to our parents, millennials boast the largest amount of resources ever known. The Internet has enabled the emergence of careers that never before existed. A quick Google search makes a list of job vacancies readily available. A business venture can be brought to life from the comfort of our own couches. Given all this, why would we refrain from pursuing our passions? Despite popular notions that “the more, the merrier,” I’ve found abundance isn’t always a positive thing, and it can generate unnecessary stress. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve begun scrolling through my Netflix recommendations and found myself an hour later still wrecked with indecision. When it comes to deciding on a career, abundance can be debilitating. With so many options available, the pressure to make

the right choice inevitably increases. Unfortunately, more opportunity comes with heightened expectations regarding the outcome. Ultimately, passion is as fleeting as it is powerful. Is what you are passionate about now the same thing you loved five or 10 years ago? Choosing to rely on passion is assuming a job will be easier to maintain if you are passionate about it. We too often forget that passion does not replace the necessity for hard work. Passion can develop within any career and can be found in any task–it’s just a matter of looking for it. Making your passion your job also means that it’s no longer solely a source of enjoyment–it now requires diligent work and consistent effort. Doing this may make you resent the very thing you were once passionate about. Maybe there is a larger lesson to be learned here. So often we focus on the bigger picture, our end goals, that we forget to appreciate the process in its greater detail. Perhaps, the fulfillment that we’re all looking for can sometimes be found right in front of us.

by Varya Genkin