“If you don’t know what your passion is, realize that one reason for your existence on Earth is to find it.”
Oprah apparently said this. At least according to Thrive, an Instagram account I follow.
So, what do you think about that? I saw the quote the other day as I was scrolling through my Instagram feed. At the time I paused and reflected over my passions – writing and painting to name two – and felt lucky to have these passions and to also actually be able to make a living off them. Still, something about this quote just bothered me, as motivational one-liners often do. The thing is, we seem to really love these motivational quotes, but the fact is, life just isn’t that simple.
I was a bit surprised that Oprah had said this because she is usually quite insightful and nuanced, and to be honest, I think telling people to dedicate their lives to chasing their passions can be quite problematic.
Well, I scrolled down to the comments section because it’s always interesting to see how other people react, and I was happy to see that many of my fellow Thrive followers were much more pragmatic and nuanced than Oprah on this particular occasion.
One of the main messages from the comments section was that if you don’t have a passion, and maybe not everyone does, that has to be okay too. Because if you tell everyone that they should spend the lives looking for passion that might not be there, it’s “a mindset that can work towards frustration,” as one person put it. Not everyone has a passion, but if they are told that they must find theirs, it invariably sets them up for a feeling of failure, or not being good enough as a person, or not looking hard enough. Or maybe you’re passionate about something mundane that can’t be translated into a successful job? Does that mean your passion isn’t good enough? (No, it doesn’t).
Or maybe all jobs don’t have to be based on passion. Maybe not everyone wants or needs to be passionate about their jobs and that has to be okay too. Or maybe they can’t. Maybe they found a passion and tried pursuing that but then realized that they also needed to afford to live.
You get the gist.
The thing is, I’m all for passion, but I’m not for sweeping generalizations where we forget that the world consists of a multitude of people with different realities, hopes, wants, and needs. I’m all for dreaming and encouraging others to do the same. What I’m not for is one-dimensional motivational quotes that become mantras and that many just can’t live up to. Life isn’t just about passion, it isn’t just about happiness, it isn’t just about living your dream. It’s so much more, and thank goodness for that!
Hi, again an important topic; words “passion” and “mission” are something I´ve been thinking about a lot. When I started opting out and writing a blog, as the sub-header of the blog states, I unconsciously assumed or wanted to assume, that all of us have passion. And if you just dare to take a leap and search for it, you would find it. But as you say, life and the society are not so simple. Actually, for reviving my blog I could write a posting about this, as it is the hot potato Im struggling with at the moment…
And I agree those inspirational quotes are kind of a brain candy for many, sometimes also for me:D
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They are brain candy for me sometimes too… 🙂
And thanks for commenting! I would love to read a new blog post from you about this!
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Great post. Powerful and insightful. I like your perspective on this. It is unique and refreshing. I have written an article about “how to find your passion’ on my website with the help of Goddess Athena – https://authorjoannereed.net/advice-from-goddess-athena-how-to-find-your-passion/ – maybe you would be interested in checking my perspective on this.
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Thank you so much! I will definitely check your article out!
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