What Are You Passionate About? Why This Question Can Create Anxiety…
Written by: Bryana Ortiz, M.Ed., LPC-Intern, Supervised by Jessica Eiseman, MS, LPC-S, NCC, CCTP
People always say, “What are you passionate about?”
Usually, this question comes about whenever people are discussing what they want to do in life. It’s a pretty well-known question but what does it mean?
Well first, let’s define what passion is. I’ve heard it described as something you have an intense desire to do.
I often hear it interchanged with finding your purpose, too. That is a heck of a lot of responsibility in a simple question. It can be overwhelming, especially for over-thinkers (guilty!), and turn into fear of failing really quickly.
Imagine being asked this as a 17-year-old deciding what to major in college. Now imagine being asked that when you’re 30 and “should” have found it already. Turns out, it is not that simple after all.
It is not something you can just say “I enjoy this activity and happen to be good at it.” BOOM! Passion… mmm not quite. It is also not something that only makes someone else happy. It is also not what your parents told you to become. It is also not that easy to answer on a whim. It’s so much more than that.
So here is my response to “What are you passionate about?” That question gives me anxiety! What about you?
I prefer to not be asked what I am passionate about, because today I may have an intense desire to binge Netflix. Tomorrow I could be passionate about putting together a rockin’ outfit for a date night! Or I freeze thinking I have to have this super interesting, well-thought-out 5-year plan or something. I can barely decide what to cook for dinner every night of the week. Yikes!
However, I can tell you what brings me fulfillment, joy, and happiness in life… Being a counselor… Writing this blog in hopes of helping someone… Being there for people I love… Laughing with my crazy friends…
That is what I think when I hear the word “passion.”
Another myth, if you will…
“If you do what you are passionate about you will never work a day in your life…” I don’t like that statement either. Sometimes what brings me fulfillment, joy, and happiness, also brings me frustration, tiredness, and mental overload. However, because of the fulfillment, I am able to give meaning to the frustration and keep going.
Life, even when everything is going well, can still be overwhelming. It is okay if a day here or there you feel like you are definitely dragging your feet trying to get through work. That doesn’t always mean it is not fulfilling anymore.
So the next time you are asked what you are passionate about, offer something like “What brings me fulfillment and joy is…”
Side note: It’s okay if that changes over time. We are human and ever-evolving.
Let’s try to stop stressing over what we are passionate about and trying to articulate that to others in a sophisticated manner. Instead let’s discover what brings us fulfillment, joy, and happiness and offer that to the world.
