# Passion



## Ines (May 3, 2020)

Few Questions:

1. How do you know that whether you are passionate or just interested about something? 

2. If suppose you are interested in two fields : Field A and Field B. 
Suppose, you have all the skills, intelligence and practice required for Field A. But you are more interested in Field B, but you don't have that much intelligence and skills for field B. 
What should you do? 
Field A had been your passion for a lot of years, but it never satisfied you at that extreme level, which Field B does! It satisfies you, it gives you immense opportunities to learn and think and enhance yourself. Field B is amazing. But you don't have all the skills required for it. It's gonna take time, dedication and practice. 
Where should you invest your energy? Field A or Field B?


----------



## pikapal (Nov 20, 2018)

Is there a way you can do both?


----------



## Ines (May 3, 2020)

pikapal said:


> Is there a way you can do both?


Yes there is a way. But I want to spend my time and energy in the thing which would give me the most returns.


----------



## angelfish (Feb 17, 2011)

Ines said:


> 1. How do you know that whether you are passionate or just interested about something?


I think what is important to discern in this case is whether Field B is a longterm interest that you can keep coming back to again and again. It sounds like both are passions, or things you are intensely energized by. You have more current interest and passion in B, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good longterm choice.



> 2. If suppose you are interested in two fields : Field A and Field B.
> Suppose, you have all the skills, intelligence and practice required for Field A. But you are more interested in Field B, but you don't have that much intelligence and skills for field B.
> What should you do?
> Field A had been your passion for a lot of years, but it never satisfied you at that extreme level, which Field B does! It satisfies you, it gives you immense opportunities to learn and think and enhance yourself. Field B is amazing. But you don't have all the skills required for it. It's gonna take time, dedication and practice.
> Where should you invest your energy? Field A or Field B?


Are there any major lifestyle differences between Field A and Field B? Are there job opportunities in Field B? Would you be able to maintain your current quality of life if you dropped your work in Field A to pursue Field B, and if not, how much are you willing to give up? What will you do if, in a year, you realize your interest in Field B is fading? Will you be readily able to go back into Field A? Just some thoughts to consider.


----------



## xraydav (Jan 3, 2013)

My two cents, do what you're most skilled at and good at.

I was met with the same dilemma when I turned 20, and what I would tell my 20 year old self, is don't screw up your life going to do something you're not 100% on, being good at.

So I guess my criticism is, that Field B sounds great _but if you don't have the skills for it, how is it going to open up opportunities_? Most opportunities go for the thing you're most skilled at when you look back at the history of your practice of it.

I wish I stayed in Law, I am skilled at it, and can interpret legal documents to a high degree. I chose Psychology over passion, hoping my extracurricular activities in research would mean "greater opportunities", it doesn't really mean that now that my GPA has plumeted to the ground because I never considered my skill set, that I wasn't ever really good at the psychology subjects, just very medicore at them.

You're either really good at something or not. My best advice would be to tell you to do Field A (if you're more skilled at it), then later do Field B, or vice versa, basically do the one that you're most skilled at first.


----------



## AiraM (Sep 15, 2020)

The difference between passion and interest is that when the first exists, there is no other choice.

Field B.


----------



## eeo (Aug 25, 2020)

Ines said:


> Yes there is a way. But I want to spend my time and energy in the thing which would give me the most returns.


If you know that you'll put up with absolutely anything so that you could live for your passion, then your mind is already made up. But if you're having doubts whether you want to deal with all the possible negative side effects of choosing your passion, then it might be better to stop and think for a bit, weigh the pros and cons, and find a way to connect the two fields.



AiraM said:


> The difference between passion and interest is that when the first exists, there is no other choice.


You can't live on passion alone. If your passion makes you starve, it's probably better to think a bit before choosing starvation.


----------



## AiraM (Sep 15, 2020)

eeo said:


> If you know that you'll put up with absolutely anything so that you could live for your passion, then your mind is already made up. But if you're having doubts whether you want to deal with all the possible negative side effects of choosing your passion, then it might be better to stop and think for a bit, weigh the pros and cons, and find a way to connect the two fields.
> 
> 
> 
> You can't live on passion alone. If your passion makes you starve, it's probably better to think a bit before choosing starvation.


I wrote only about the difference.

Passion and doubts? At the same time? No.


----------



## eeo (Aug 25, 2020)

AiraM said:


> I wrote only about the difference.
> 
> Passion and doubts? At the same time? No.


You also mentioned having no other choice. I guess, to me, having passion isn't about losing one's ability to think straight. You can see the possibilities, even the negative ones, and you still have a choice whether to pursue them or not. That's the doubt. Both choices have positive and negative outcomes.


----------



## AiraM (Sep 15, 2020)

eeo said:


> You also mentioned having no other choice. I guess, to me, having passion isn't about losing one's ability to think straight. You can see the possibilities, even the negative ones, and you still have a choice whether to pursue them or not. That's the doubt. Both choices have positive and negative outcomes.


I understand what you mean and I don't fundamentally disagree. However, since we are talking about passion, so something that goes beyond mild interest, the exact moment you think under its influence there is no doubt, or choice. Only after. 
I never make hasty or hurried decisions specially for this.


----------



## 17041704 (May 28, 2020)

I agree with xraydav do what you are good at. Field A that is.
This is from someone who was the idiot who skated upstream in his BSc and MSc.
I was only lucky that I survived and graduated but I do not cherish the experience at all.
No matter how hard you try if it is not able to bring out the best of you, you will come to regret it at some point.

I should have studied law (now everyone tells me I should have become a lawyer) instead I studied something else that's all maths (which I know I'm not good at) because it sounded interesting and seemed like a good idea at the time to challenge myself. I do fine now and compensate at work with my other strengths but always feel like I'm doing everything at a handicap technically speaking. 

A partner I came to work with once wanted to recruit me to his firm but I am not trained and without a license so that's out of the question. Now I see myself forever stuck with something I'm not naturally good at and that's the price I will have to pay for the choices I've made.

Same for my INTP wife she should have done science instead she studied law. The only redeeming quality for her is that she has IQ145 so unlike me she can cope without effort but she still whines about her past choices from time to time because maths and science is where she truly shines.

Passion is temporary it won't last forever. Your strengths will always be there. Don't let it go to waste.


----------



## Scoobyscoob (Sep 4, 2016)

Unless you're extremely passionate about something, it's usually a better idea to pursue what you're skilled at. Although I know someone who was/probably-still-is extremely passionate about building castles and building medieval siege weapons. He relentlessly pursued his passion and now he has a very lucrative career and company building things for re-enactments, movies, shows, etc. He was also nearly homeless and bankrupt at one point, but he kept at it and refused to give up his passion.

I think that's admirable and I can honestly say I've never been that passionate about anything so I would go with what I'm skilled at. So Field A and maybe try Field B later on in life, although that'll mean you'll likely never good at Field B.


----------



## letsrunlikecrazy (Sep 21, 2015)

I've never been passionate about anything in my life. If I waited until I felt passionate, then I would never have a proper job. So what do I do? Forget passion, save that for a love story. I do what I can do well and which won't make me poor.

Life is not fair. Just because you want to be something doesn't mean you can be that thing, no matter how hard you try. It's one thing to be ambitious but someone who doesn't realize their limits and fatal weaknesses is a clown. And you only have so much time, you cannot train or practice forever. I would say it's okay to try something crazy when you have the opportunity (mostly when you are young) but you quickly run out of time and opportunities as life goes on.

A caveat about doing what you are good at. Sometimes doing what you are good at won't allow you the kind of lifestyle you want. In that case, you might want to challenge yourself and gain other skills. When I was young I was good at writing and art. I didn't go in that direction career-wise because I knew it would always be a struggle. Instead, I pushed myself to improve in areas I didn't feel comfortable and good about, namely math and computer science. Now I have a job that's more in line with math and computer science than writing and art. I'm not passionate about it but I'm competent and it pays the bills. 

The thing is, if you want to push yourself to go in a direction that feels unnatural, you should do it as soon as possible because the older you get the less quickly you are able to learn and adapt.


----------

