It’s de rigueur to talk about “passion,” how it informs our destiny, and how following it is the most important thing we can do. And surely passion, in its mad glory, is a valuable driver to success. Without it, we might not ever take that all-important first step to wherever we’re going. We might not ever be motivated to begin.
Instead we might be watching television or napping — and not sprinting headlong into the unknown.
Passion is like coffee. It gives us a rush and wears off (at least sometimes). That doesn’t mean it isn’t important. It just means it’s there to get us started. To get us off the sofa. To help us focus and commit.
It doesn’t do the work for us.
We might think, when passion ebbs, that we need to change what we’re doing. We might think the album or book we’re dreaming up has to change, fundamentally and right now, because it isn’t exciting us anymore. Because we’re “not feeling it.” And we might take that as a sign.
But just as purpose withers without passion, passion is nothing by itself.
Stop obsessing on your passion. Think instead about who you are — and what you absolutely need to do with it.
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About Mark DoyonI run Wampus, a creative development agency and label for emerging artists and authors. I make records as Arms of Kismet (and sometimes Waterslide), and wrote the book 'Bonneville Stories.'