We
see a lot of advice these days about following your passion. Determine what
your passion is, pursue it, and you will find happiness. Huffington Post even
has a whole
section on the subject. It ‘s a subject usually but not always associated
with “Gen Y” or millennials – those who were born roughly between 1980 and
1995. Yet I’ve heard Gen X-rs and Baby Boomers embrace the same idea. It’s usually
tied in with the idea of quitting your existing job and pursing that desire or
dream that’s been rattling around in your head.
However
the idea got started, the inevitable pushback has followed. “Follow Your Passion
is Not a Career Plan,” says Business
Week. George Washington University professor Cal Newport says it’s bad
advice. Mashable reposted the Cal Newport video and then elaborated
on why it’s bad advice. So did the
Minimalists. So did Fast
Company. (That Cal Newport fellow has had a considerable influence.)
The
appeal of the idea of following your passion is understandable. You find
yourself in a boring job, or a job that’s taken turns you didn’t expect, or the
organization reorganized itself three months after you walked in the door, or
that great new boss you were working for suddenly quit, or the company was
acquired and layoffs are coming. Or perhaps the layoffs have started. None of
this leads to happiness, and it is happiness that has come to be the main goal
of life in Western culture.
What
I think we do is confuse passion with desire, or even dreams.
I
have a great desire to spend more time in London, seeing cool stuff, like we
did on our recent vacation, and preferably staying at the hotel we stayed at.
It’s a desire – and a quick way to spend a lot of money.
I
have a dream of being a full-time writer, writing what I would like to write.
It’s been a dream since I was in my 20s (it’s an old dream). I didn’t begin
getting really serious about it until about 10 years ago. Yes, I’ve authored two
novels and a book about the poetry
of work. I won’t be living off the royalties any time soon. The dream is still
a dream, and one that I believe I’ll be closer to realizing in a few short
months, when I retire from the day job.
Ideally
though, you never quite realize the dream. You keep reaching for it. The
reality of the dream is in the reaching.
And
then, say John Lynch, Bruce
McNichol and Bill Thrall, the authors of The
Cure: What if God Isn’t Who You Think He Is and Neither Are You, there
is destiny.
Their definition isn’t what you might expect.
Most of us today would define destiny as fate or perhaps providence. What The Cure suggests, however, is that we
typically look at this from the wrong end of the telescope.
“Destiny,” the authors write, “is the ordained
intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”
That’s the desire we should have, the dream we
should reach for, and even the passion we should follow.
Yes, it’s about you, but it doesn’t start with
you.
And it won’t end with you.
But you do have a destiny.
Led by Jason Stasyszen and Sarah Salter, we’ve
been reading The Cure. To see more posts on this chapter, “Two Destinies,” please
visit Sarah at Living Between the Lines and Jason at Connecting to Impact.
Photograph by Anne Lowe via
Public
Domain Pictures. Used with permission.
1 comment:
"Yes, it's about you, but it doesn't end with you." I love that statement, Glynn. The search for happiness seems to yield fleeting returns, but when we find the Source of all things, something profound takes shape in us. We get to do what we were created for, but we're still so captivated by Him. Great post, sir! Thank you.
Post a Comment