You’ve got a dream? Time to follow your passion!
Hannah West (RCDP)
Qualified Careers & Employability Professional, UKCDA Public Sector Careers Adviser of the Year 2023
The song ‘I’ve got a dream’ lists multiple examples of individuals who have a passion they want to follow:
“…despite my evil look, And my temper, and my hook, I've always yearned to be a concert pianist “
?The idea of “following your passion” is a great way to start a debate among career development professionals. But I’m going to come out and say it: it may be a cliché, but I don’t think it is that bad.
(I know there will be a few people shouting at their screen right now, but bear with me on this one.)
In its most literal sense, it is terrible advice. Not everyone has a ‘passion’, not everyone wants their ‘passion’ to consume all their time, our ‘passions’ change over time… etc. So why then does the cliché persist? Maybe it shouldn’t be taken so literally.
‘Following your passion’ is pretty didactic advice. Such instruction is at odds with the ethos of career guidance. Take the example of the budding concert pianist above - “following this passion” doesn’t necessarily mean they should drop everything and become a pianist, that’s a bit too ‘trait and factor’ for modern career guidance. Instead, I see it as meaning that the passion should be explored, to identify what it means to them. There is much precedence for this within career theory - particularly in the narrative approach, which is built around exploring clients’ likes and dislikes, to interpret this into career stories. Decision making theories also come into play here: the DOTS model and sociological models like Careership both spring to mind as they explore why a client may not be acting on an opportunity (or may not have recognised the opportunity to start with). And then there’s the idea of motivations – like in Schein’s anchors, or going beyond career theory and into the likes of Maslow. ?
A part of the issue with this cliché might be the word ‘passion’. I’ve already recognised that we don’t all have something we feel ‘passionate’ about. In this context, I think we need to be looser with our definition of ‘passion’. Looking at the synonyms suggested for passion on the Merriam Webster website gives broader interpretations. For example we all experience enjoyment, which might make that a more identifiable concept to explore. Equally idolisation fits with role models, which is a commonly explored theme in careers interventions. ??
Going back to my post around ‘When will my life begin?’, we also need to consider the wider meaning of career. If we look beyond paid roles, in “I’ve got a dream” we can actually see that the majority of the individuals listed are following their dreams already:?
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“… Gunther does interior design, Ulf is into mime, Attila's cupcakes are sublime, Bruiser knits, Killer sews, Fang does little puppet shows, And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns!”
“Follow your passion” doesn’t have to mean ‘turn your passion into your job’. It might mean something along the lines of ‘make time for your passion’ or even ‘identify your passion’.
This is the last of my posts on Disney’s Tangled. I hadn’t anticipated the film turning into three LinkedIn articles on careers, but this in itself is a great example for this article. Whilst I enjoy the Disney genre, I'd never consider a Disney inspired job (I lack the artistic skills for animation and do not have the singing voice of a princess). However my self-set task of watching the movies in chronological order is a great illustration of my motivators, as is the writing of these articles themselves. I may not be following my passion into a career change, but reflecting on my passion is a great reminder of why I do what I do.
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Headteacher at Bere Clinic Elysium
11 个月Love this - so true!