“You can’t improve if you don’t know what you’re doing wrong.” – Shane Parrish
Growing up, we’re told that we could be whatever we want to be and that anything is possible.
So we listen.
We listen because we look up to those telling us this. For what other choice do we have? So we blindly assume that the teachers, guidance counselors, and self-improvement gurus of the world know all the answers when we’re young.
For a long time, I was oblivious to reality.
In the past, I listened to self-help influencers reinforce the notion that I just had to find my passion in life, and I was a fool to do so.
I was a fool because I would never question anything, I was living in my own delusions, and I wasn’t seeing the world for the way it is. Through trial and error, I’ve come to realize that our universe is governed by certain laws, one of them being the law of supply and demand.
Ring a bell?
The thing is that all of the activities that I genuinely enjoy doing are most likely enjoyed by the vast majority of people (and vice versa).
What this means is that when it comes to selecting a career, following my heart is never the best option because the things that my heart wants to follow have too much supply 4and too little demand.
Believe me, I’d love to be a professional video game player, but so would everybody else. In fact, most people will gladly do these activities for free, giving our society no incentive to pay these professions generously (unless you’re in the top 0.001%). If we lived in a utopia and college didn’t require tuition, then it would make sense to just study whatever you wanted and not care about the practicality of anything–but the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.
It has been established that 1) An individual must pursue things that suck in order to increase his or her value to a corporation and 2) The notion of needing to discover what you’re passionate about in order to be happy is toxic–especially for all of us who are just trying to figure it out in college. To be frank, I don’t think I’ll ever be 100% certain on what I want to do in life as my answer continues to change every other week.
It’s common to think that passion is inborn, but this is just a misconception. According to Cal Newport, distinguished computer science professor and renowned author of Deep Work, passion is derived from just being really good at something:
“Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.”
Now it’s up to the individual to decide what to focus on, as this answer will depend on many factors that only you will be able to identify. Generally speaking, it would be in your best interest to learn more about your natural advantages, specific knowledge, current opportunities, etc. and then determine the trajectory that gives you the best chance of making it to the top 1%.
This is because no amount of hard work will ever compensate for the fact that you aren’t naturally good at what you’re doing. For example, when compared to the people who code for hours and hours just for fun, I simply don’t have the same inclinations as they do. Sure, it’s possible to put in the work to get better, but I’d rather spend this time refining my aptitudes. Because I don’t have a disposition to enjoy programming, I’d be more likely to burnout, hate my job, and be average when compared to the people who do.
So the gist is that passion is ever-changing and not permanent, and this is what you must drill in your skull. Throughout your life, your inclinations will lead you to different places and through these places you will gain different experiences. Each experience will change your previous inclinations and then the process will repeat itself over and over again.
Don’t worry so much about discovering your passion, but instead listen to your inclinations, always try to seek discomfort, and be courageous enough to separate yourself from the herd.
And when you finally rise to the top, all of those late nights will be worth it.
JL