What No One Admits to You about PursuingYour Passion

Taking the road less travelled is complicated…

These days, more people are in the pursuit of happiness and therefore, we all know it is important to find and pursue your passion.

We also know the benefits of the pursuit of our passions. That it would lead to making our lives fill happier, more meaningful and more fulfilling.

I am on board with going after your passions because it truly does bring joy and meaning to your life.

However, in addition to the narrative of discussing pursuing your passion, we must also be willing to ponder other aspects of going after your passion that make things difficult but still worthwhile.

Your Passion Can Change to Several Things

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When we often discuss going after your passion, we assume it is this one big thing that would impact our life greatly. Though this is true for some people, it is not for everyone.

You can have one passion and then decide that you are passionate about something else.

I remember coming into college and I had such a love for literature and journalism. I assumed I would have a career working in the media industry.

I did have some experience in the media industry but I later decided that it was not what I’m passionate about.

My passion changed from media to wanting to be part of a non-profit organisation and also truly caring about women’s empowerment and issues around gender-based violence.

The reasons my passions changed are due to work experiences and realising I felt more fulfilment knowing I was part of organisations that were making an impact in the lives of women and children.

You have to know that you might be passionate about something and then you have different experiences and your passions change. It is okay. You are allowed to have a new passion.

Not Everyone will Understand Your Pursuits

The truth is especially for creative careers, not everyone would understand why you do what you do. I wasn’t fully encouraged to study English Literature. When I left my media job to go into a non-profit organisation, not everyone fully supported me in doing that.

You have to know that when you pursue your passions, not everyone would get why you are excited about doing things that might not seem practical.

The way to get over this is to continuously remind yourself what your vision is. Where do you see yourself when it comes to your ideas and projects? What do you hope to achieve in doing what you do? Also, simply remind yourself of your why. Why do you choose to do what you do?

Your Passion Might Not Make an Immediate Profit

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When we consider the idea of pursuing our passions, we want to see the immediate benefit. We want to sing the praises of going after our dreams.

However, the reality is that sometimes, a passion might not be what you do to make money. A passion might simply be what you do for fun.

A passion might be what you pursue to fill your life with meaning.

A passion might be a side hustle for some years while working a regular job until the moment reaches that the passion becomes a full-time job.

You Can Be Passionate and Still Need to Develop Yourself

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Yes, you can be gifted and passionate about something but often not, that is not the end. What you know does not only stop at you.

I’m passionate about writing but I know I still need to work on myself. I still need to develop myself through continuous practice and learning from other writers and creators.

Being passionate does not mean that you don’t do anything with it. You have to keep working on and developing yourself and your skills.

Your Passion Can Create Opportunities

I said earlier that your passion does not make an immediate profit. Yes, your passion might not make you a buck but it can lead you to opportunities where you can earn.

Writing on my first blog and on Medium and LinkedIn led me to opportunities where I got hired for roles in communications and social media.

You should know that your passion might not lead you to be an overnight success but it can be the stepping stone for you to get opportunities.

Final Thoughts

We all have different passions in life. My passion is writing. Your passion could be for art. It could be for music. It could be for business or tech. Lucky You.

In pursuing our passion, yes it brings joy. Yes, it brings fulfilment but no that is not all. You can be passionate but things might take some time before the success occurs. Yes, you might be passionate but you still need to put in the work to get better.