The Problem With Finding Your Passion

The first bit of advice often given to someone struggling to make a change in their career is to “find the thing you are passionate about”.

After all, if you know what you are passionate about, you can then focus all your attention and effort on doing that one thing.? Sure, that makes logical sense.?

And there lies the problem.

It makes logical sense to MOST people but not everyone.

Admitted, I am one of those people it makes sense to.? Being a natural process thinker, building systems that work toward an end goal (like one’s passion) is second nature to me.? I spend a lot of my time imaging future states and how to get there.

But in conversations with many engineers and managers, I hear a common frustration:

“I just can’t find my passion!”

And it’s not through lack of trying.? These are smart, hard working, thoughtful people. ?

They’ve gone through countless exercises to uncover their values.? They’ve worked with coaches to determine their purpose.? They’ve drawn vision boards.? They’ve participated in visualization exercises.

But nothing really fits or feels right.

Sure, they may have found a few things they are interested in - but nothing that sparks their imagination that they can point to and say “that’s the one!” ?

They are told they need to find their one passion if they want to make a change in their career (or life?).? And since they cannot find that ONE thing, it is frustrating and they feel even more trapped in their current situation.? At worst, they feel they are somehow broken because they cannot figure this one thing out. ?

The truth is, some people simply have a broader perspective of the world.

They have a wide range of interests.

They are curious about many things.

They likely have a million Reddit or Quora tabs open in their browser. ?

And when you ask them what is their favourite XYZ thing is, they will answer: “Don’t make me choose!”

Because their strength is not in narrowing down possibilities, finding their one passion, it is exactly the opposite.? They are very good at generating options and new possibilities. ?

The learning for them is not about picking one thing to focus on - because nothing will ever feel right.

Instead, it about embracing the multitude of ideas and perspectives.? It is OKAY to enjoy and be curious about many things. ?

Maybe a better goal is not to find that ONE thing, but rather find a place that allows you to explore MANY things. Does this sound like you?? If so, write “MANY!” in the comments or send me a DM with your thoughts (or book a call with me).

In the meantime, here are a couple of videos I posted this week:

Managers - You’re Not Alone

Many people find it isolating being a leader.? You don’t want to seem like you don’t know what you are doing to your boss - so who can you really talk to and get support?

In this video, I explore several things you can do to find the support you need and start building your confidence in your leadership.

Watch the Extroverts

If you are an introvert in an engineering manager role, you are likely very good at talking about engineering topics to your engineers.? But if you want to advance your career, you need to learn to talk to a much wider range of people.

In this video, I suggest a strategy to help you along the way: Watch the extroverts.