Passion is just one of those things you don’t ask questions about. Kind of like when you catch your dad texting the secretary in the middle of the night.
You see it, acknowledge it, and take your questions to the grave.
I, however, have no plans of taking any important questions to the grave.
And something I have questions about is this new internet craze of “finding your passion”. It seems as though everywhere I turn, someone is goading someone else into quitting their job in search of passion.
I’m not knocking anyone’s hustle but I really don’t get it.
When I think about passion, I think about something really touchy feely. Something that burns really hot for a short amount of time.
Common sense, in comparison, is something logical and concrete. Something that stands the test of time.
Passion is that feeling of falling in love with a career, a person, an idea. It is the excitement of knowing that something good is coming.
Common sense, on the other hand, is not a feeling at all. It is the confidence of knowing that the path is proven and well worn.
If passion were a color, it would be bright red.
If common sense were a color, it would be a mousy gray.
The problem is, the bright, red adrenaline rush of passion eventually fades. And the mousy gray confidence of common sense eventually bores the intelligent mind.
We can spend our entire lives chasing after an elusive passion. We can sacrifice our creativity on the altar of common sense. Or we can choose to build a future on something better.
Something like belief.
Belief has no specific color. It has little to do with well worn paths or intense feelings. Belief is like a North Star. It is the decision that guides every other decision.
Passion for what you do is good. Common sense is helpful. Belief, on the other hand, is essential. tweet this
Let me put it like this:
- Common sense is what tells you not to go skydiving.
- Passion is what makes you want to go anyway.
- Belief is what gives you the guts to jump out of the plane.
Common sense and passion are important but belief is the bridge that connects the two.
When you know what you believe, you close the gap that inevitably traps the less perceptive. If I had to choose a starting point, I’d pick belief every single time.
