The Best Advice I've Ever Heard on Following Your Passion

Raise your hand if your career aspirations and passions are ALL over the place (*insert hand raise emoji here*).

Hey guys, Courtney here. If you’re someone who has struggled to not define your worth by your career and your professional contributions, I am totally with you. I would definitely consider myself to be a multi-passionate person. I currently work in marketing, but within the past five years, I’ve been genuinely serious about being an elementary school teacher, going to culinary school, writing a book, and becoming an actress. 

All those things are virtually completely unrelated, but they are all things I consider myself passionate about.

I’ve tried to work through the anxiety of figuring out my career by listening to podcasts, taking career aptitude tests, and reading self-help books. In that process, here is the best advice I’ve heard about following your passion.

1. You Don’t Have to be One Thing

I’ve struggled so hard to find my one thing for so long. I was always so jealous of people who have known their calling since they were five years old, and knew exactly what they needed to do to get there. 

It feels daunting to pick something and go for it, then risk realizing that that’s actually not your “passion” and you want to do something else.

I’ve recently realized, and come to terms with, the fact that for many of us, it’s not one thing. It’s a bunch of little things — mini journeys and periods of exploration that ultimately lead us to where we’re supposed to be in that moment.

I admittedly get so afraid to take any step towards pursuing an interest, because I convince myself that it’s a life sentence — that it defines me. That I’ll look weak or unstable for having changed my mind. None of these things are true.

My career doesn’t define my worth (read more about that here), and if I really want to, I can probably try all those career interests I have.

One thing that’s helped: I have started to try to detach myself from labels. It makes me feel less intimidated about developing and exploring my professional interests. For example, if I choose to stay in marketing, I am not a marketer —  I am a person who creatively advertises products and services to people. If I one day decide to teach, I am not a teacher — I am a person who mentors, nurtures, and teaches knowledge to children. 

Who you are as a person will always be more important than any professional label you obtain.

2. There Will Never Be a Moment of Arrival

I have to stop imagining this moment of arrival — the day where I finally say, “Yes. This is the one thing I want to do for the rest of my life.” 

Because honestly, by the time I complete one career goal, I’m already likely distracted with reaching the next one.

The truth is — you are allowed to change your mind about your career and what you want to do. If you want to leave the corporate world to be a stay-at-home mom, go for it. If you want to get your teaching license at 45, start a food truck with your best friend, or go back to school to be a fashion designer, you are allowed to do that and you should.

Just know that no matter what you decide, you’ll likely never reach a moment of complete contentment, because that’s not typically how we’re wired. Every job comes with its challenges. I think the most important questions to ask yourself are: Am I being true to myself and what I really want? Am I generally happy and fulfilled despite the day-to-day hardships that come with any job? If you can answer yes to those, I think that’s a great start.

3. Develop Your Passion by Following Your Curiosity

You all know that I am a sucker for self-help podcasts. But sometimes, they can pressure you into thinking you’re “in the wrong profession” or make you feel inferior for not quitting your 9-to-5 and going in extreme debt to make your business idea work. 

So much self-help content these days is push, push, push. Learn more, be more, do more. While I am a true believer that developing our knowledge, forming good habits, and becoming more self aware are invaluable in optimizing our happiness and effectiveness in society, I think it’s important to take a step back and just let go of all the expectations placed on us for a second. Let’s just pause, and breathe, and explore, and play. Let’s not be afraid to follow our curiosity. 

The podcast episode that really drove this idea home for me is WorkLife with Adam Grant, The perils of following your career passion.

My fiancé listens to a podcast every day on his commute. Right now, that means he takes a morning and evening walk around Manhattan to pretend he’s commuting to an office (I’m not quite as disciplined...by the time he returns in the morning, I’m still in my jammies drinking my latte). He’s great at recommending episodes that he thinks will resonate with me (I leave the stock market-related content to him, haha), and this WorkLife one is by far my favorite.

The main message of the podcast is: Don’t follow your passion. Develop your passion — by following your curiosity.

As someone who constantly asks herself, “Who am I? What am I? What do I contribute to the world and how do I make it a better place?” I feel immense pressure to answer all those questions with a chosen career path. And since I have 12 million interests I want to pursue, it made me realize that most people’s career pursuits and passion don’t fit into a neat box. So what if I could see myself leading a marketing team, teaching 4th graders, and becoming a chef?

The message in the podcast is that “following your passion” results in a fixed mindset and assumes that if your interests change or you don’t like a certain aspect of your field, you must have found the wrong passion. 

Maybe your passion isn’t something that’s out there for you to discover, but it’s something for you to instead explore and develop over time. 

The podcast discussion goes on to suggest that we shouldn’t be afraid to date different careers. You date different people before you choose a lifelong partner, right? Some people prefer not to choose a lifelong partner, and instead want to play the field — and that’s okay, whether it’s in your career or your love life.

I have decided to give myself the freedom to explore my curiosity, and not be so attached to labels, titles, salaries, and industries.

For now, I am continuing to grow and learn in my marketing career while not being afraid to follow my curiosity outside of work. 

You are not stuck in your current situation. There’s a world of opportunities out there just waiting for you to explore if you’ll just let go of the fear of change and certainty, and most importantly, follow your curiosity.