I have been doing a lot of reading lately, about change and happiness and passion and good times. I am like that. I am all for the rollicking good times, I tell you! I seek nice times.
I’ve been thinking a lot about a book I read a while ago, too, which I am re-reading now. It’s called ‘The Element‘ and it’s by Sir Ken Robinson. Ken is the absolute poster boy for ‘Doing What You Love’. In fact, if someone made Ken’s poster it would feature him wearing a top hat with the Union Jack on it, pointing smilingly and saying ‘I Want You To Do What You Are Meant To Do!’ And this statement does not refer to obligation or being obedient. Nope. No naughty corner for you. This statement refers to simply doing the thing you love the most, the thing you are passionate about.
But what is this thing (called love)? Well, you and I both know that you don’t have to dig deep to discover your thing. It only takes a tiny surface scratch to reveal it, because the thing is as much a part of you as your fingers, toes or nose.
Ken talks about people who seemingly ‘failed’ or were thought of as ‘inept’, especially at school age. People like Paul McCartney and Mr Fleetwood of Mac fame. Ken talks about how they became prodigious in the fields they loved the most (and this does not just apply to musicians, there were other examples too.) He tells us about how sometimes it feels like we’ve sort of slotted in to a more conventional not-really-us kind of life. And he shows examples of people who side-stepped this kind of fate and went on to achieve greatness in the field they loved the most.
All this has got me wondering, especially because I am at a big crossroad in my own life. So here is my question for you…
Will passion always POP? Will the thing you are meant to do always find a way? Is its nature irrepressible?(MONKEY!) OR do you need to let it out of the closet? Will it languish in there if you don’t? Or is it always going to find a way to seep back into your life? Does it grow in the dark? And should you repress it, if you’ve got other things to do, other priorities? Or will that give you hemorrhoids?
xx Pip
Listening :: to Breakfasters on 3RRR :: get ready to subscribe or renew your subscription!
Downloading :: This app so I can listen to the radio on the run via my phone (thank Trevor!) Please note :: I do not actually RUN.
Eating at :: Cafe Vue (for a lunch meeting with some ace peeps yesterday.) Completely delicious Chai. Utterly old school Chicken Sandwiches. Super nice waiting staff. Like REALLY super nice. Also noticed a few ladies with duck lips. You don’t see much of that in the Northern Suburbs…
Wearing :: Pyjama pants and a sweatshirt
Drinking :: Tea with soy and honey
Feeling :: Tonsilly
Lovely post Pip ๐ Like most people, I've wrestled with this too. And I think part of the problem is that we have a belief that there is only mean to be ONE passion, ONE dream role. And we all freak out about whether we're focusing on the right thing.
Who's to say there's something wrong with just pursuing multiple different interests, as they grab you?
I've just discovered some really great stuff written by Emilie Wapnick, and I wrote a blog all about it only yesterday!
We waste so much time worrying about if we're following our ONE true passion at the expense of other possibilities. I'm going to try to stop worrying, and just focus on staying creative, in whatever way that may be.
I think that this is a question of balance. I am sure that what you are passionate about comes to the surface, and it does make you very unhappy to repress it. That doesn't always mean that you can find a way to make a living out of it, but even if you work to live you should always spare time for your passions, I speak the experince! I think creative people will always strive to find a different way to live and break from the norm, I am not sure I will ever be totally free from this!
Another awesome, thought-provoking post!
I just stated a new job, definitely not in an area I am passionate about.
I am passionate about conservation, the environment, economics, making things out of things other people throw away and generally being creative.
For a while I worked as a teacher and it was great to be able to talk to people about things I am passionate about and be creative every day – but I was overworked and taken advantage of…
A long time ago a wise person told me that it isn't always about having a job you are passionate about, but sometimes about doing a job so you have the time and money to be passionate with.
Hi Pip thanks so much for thats its just what I need at the moment funny when you suddenly focus on something it just starts to fall into place! ๐
Aw! I bet you WON'T miss me! I will be blogging TWICE as much as I am now! You will be TIRED OF ME! You will! It's only the Fitzroy shop that is going. A new online shop will lauch and a busier blog and other things too! So do not worry about missing me! xx
I think we all have a passion, (although I do have friends that say they don't know what theirs is … yet)that whispers or shouts to us in our head until we do something about it. I do think that some people just don't do anything about it because they are caught up with other aspects of their life and they don't think that they can fit in everything. I think you can though …. your passion is one thing that you will make time for in your life if only you let it out and give a little time for it. And I believe it will make you a happier and more contented person when you do, and that will rub off into the other areas of your life. That's my personal experience anyway Pip. We certainly will miss you. Boo hoo. x
Hi,
First time here as I popped over from kootoyoo, with the question 'make things happen' link. I think that each of us has a passion, and once found, we are always looking for ways to incorporate it into our daily lives. And when we do, we experience joy.
What a brilliant post Pip! : )
I think that passion has a bit of a boomerang quality about it. If you throw it away, in favor of what you think you ought to be doing or what others expect you to be doing, it may be gone for a little while but you can be sure it'll return. You'll see it in other peoples lives, your kids will ask you about it over an old photo album, it'll come to you as an epiphany while your on holidays. Best just go quietly!
Passion it's a passive aggressive. : D
x Alisa
I think I might go find that book! Thanks Pip, for a really really thought provoking post – I've had the worst few days due to feeling like i have a complete lack of passion in my life… Now to try and find it again! And apologise to everyone I've ignored in my slump! x
thanks for the mind food! i wish my passion would pop, then i would have clarity and justification for doing it. i tend to have lots of "interests" and i have been waiting for a i-must-do-this-or-i-will-die mission for my life. i declared this year my year as an empty vessel, just waiting to be filled to the brim with inspiration. the year is racing through and i haven't found it yet. but i trust it will come. won't it?
This is a fabulous post. I think about this issue a lot as well. I always tend to put my kids and our family business (it's what pays the bills after all!) first and try to fit anything for me around the edges. This has been very dissatisfying for me; always last on the list, if you know what I mean, but I can't see any other way to do 'life'. Hasn't given me hemorrhoids yet, but yes, thinking that some things need to be re-jigged. Thanks for the tip about the Ken Robinson book – might try reading what he has to say ๐ Great post. Kx
I think passion is like other things – it has to be nurtured, encouraged, grown, taught. It can be repressed, ignored, or cut off. I think this is the source of a lot of mental angst in our modern world – too much specification and not enough variety/general creativity in everyday life. And depression in general – how many kids are born with great things inside them that they never know how to get out, you know?
Gosh, I think about this every day. When I was growing up I wanted to be an art teacher ๐ But then I wanted to be other things, and got caught up. Studied a lot, then ended up in a profession I liked and was good at, but was not my passion. I felt a bit empty. I wanted to "make stuff", but had no idea what to make. Had 3 babies, made different things, then learnt crochet, and now teach others to crochet. Not lots of others, but a few. Now I wish I became that art teacher. I still love making things, and teaching others to find a way to make things. I love discovering old arts and and passing them on perhaps. Is that the same passion from when I was a child? It just found a way. Now I ask, as my youngest will start school in 2014, can I keep doing this thing that seems to be my passion, will it find a way, or do I go back to doing what I was okay at? Hmmm… I know which one I want. I just try and keep faith that it will evolve for me. Interesting! Thank you Pip ๐
The things you are passionate about don't always POP! Sometimes they just creep up and touch you on the shoulder and say 'Hi, I'm here, ready when you are.' And if you are not ready, it will wait, patiently, nudging you gently every now and again and reminding you that it is there, waiting for you to be ready to follow it.
When I was a teenager I turned away from my passion – it was too easy and too hard to follow, all at the same time I think (too scary too if I'm really honest). I didn't believe in it at all. But it has permeated through everything I have done since then until finally I am now following it, finding my feet and having a go.
But I don't look back and think 'if only' because I don't think I would be where I am today if I hadn't taken the paths I chose.
It is still that mix of scary and hard and easy, but I'm more than happy to go where my passion takes me now. I feel privileged to have found it – so many aren't as lucky as I am. Finding the right spot to make that 'tiny surface scratch' is quite hard sometimes.
Great post Pip. Really got me thinking, and appreciating where I am today.
Oh yes, something I've thought lots about too. Big Sir Ken fans here… I think if you do what makes you happy, you can't help but find your passion. I also think you can have more than one passion. You need to stay on top of it though and make sure you don't get bogged down with what you think is making you happy. Because it can change and people grow. Life can get in the way of happiness and passion sometimes and it takes gutsy thinking and decision making to follow them. But I think ultimately the rewards are worth it. It's why we unschool our kids.
I love Ken! This book changed the way I parent and for that, me and my children, will be always truly grateful. My husband has a vocation and passion a and it is a joy to watch. My problem is that my passion doesn't pay. It is the thankless, endless, occasionally blissful pursuit of parenthood and facilitating the lives and work of my husband and family. (I struggle with it and I am not passionate about the domestic stone that must be rolled up the hill every day.) But I succumb to believing that this passion is insufficient, that I am supposed to be MORE. I am supposed to work and have something for myself. I am passionate about books, art, craft, music and friends. If I don't get paid for it, is my passion insufficient? i suspect I should stop criticising it, get over myself and just relish the fact that I am one of the lucky ones, I have found my passion.
Sometimes, we're lucky – we find and pursue our passions early. Mostly, though, I think the stuff we're passionate about follows us around… waiting, quietly, for us to notice them. Like a puppy.
Sometimes, I think we ignore the poor little passions until, one day, there is a pop – "hello there little passion, sorry for ignoring you, but now I jus' gotta work out how you fit, little fella."
Then, it says: "That's OK. I've been waiting patiently and I'm happy for you to work out how you can make me work. But I am a bit pee-my-pants excited about that!"
Then, we get a bit pee-our-pants-excited, too, coz we've found our passions and we're really going to make it work!
And, they still like us even though we ignored them for so long. (That's one of the things that makes passions extra nice.)
Really nice post Pip :O)
Hi Pip – I love this post – I'm watching someone I truly love follow their passion right now – it's fraught with good stuff and not so good stuff which has been a good reminder that just because you love it, doesn't mean it will come easy and be all shiny and wonderful straight up. But the happiness you feel inside for having a go, making it work and seeing it happen is worth all of that. Best wishes to you. Nic
Hi there Pip
I think it's okay to have or change between passions, as long as you're passionate about something. Through my life I've always been a bit obsessed about something. When I was tiny it was cutting out and drawing rainbows – but not Rainbow Bright or Punky Brewster (Although I did have the Cheer Bear Care Bear because of his rainbow). As I grew it was about different things and now I have a few passions, but nothing I obsess about. I like it better that way. I feel more open to new things rather than stuck on one thing.
Oh yes, I AM following my passion! Hence all the changes around here… I guess I am just wondering about the General State Of Passion… and how it works for different people… and these comments are all VERY interesting. I am SURE it is a question to spawn many other questions. Just MY FAVOURITE kind of question, really!
Wonderful Post pip! I'm with Kirst the kind i love most from you.
it's funny I was thinking about this very thing this morning. How perhaps it was inevitable that I became to be a toy maker, as as a child i was passionate about toys ( still am) and was obsessed with making. If I didn't have the current thing I was into like elephant for eg, I would simply make one from whatever I had around….
xox
PS YAy for you and the shout out to RRR, if you ring next week, you might get me on the phone.
PPS. Hope you feel better soon
I too am at a crossroads. Love love my job, love love my bearded pigeon. Need to find a way to do both. I know I am good at the professional one but this pigeon thing…. Will it last? …. What I want to do requires completely re trainingwhen would I do that and also have time to sleep? Great post but has given me more questions than answers!
I think it's nature & nurture… as in, i don't think your passion will disappear if it's ignored, but i think it'll thrive if you work on it. i'll have to pick up this book, thanks for the recommendation! x
I often wonder about the same type of thing, along with the 'if onlys' and 'how did I end up here'?
Sometimes we need to just make a leap of faith, cross our fingers, and hope for the best! You'll never know if you don't try.
Morning Pip. I reckon that you don't have to worry. And that your passion will find a way, even if you do have to neglect it for a while for other responsibilities. xo
Here it is…
the type of pip post I love the most!
The passion popping paragraph is of course most interesting to me. I wonder a lot about this type of thing too…& then I wonder if the THING i am meant to do is just EXACTLY what I am doing right now (& do I just need to get over myself).
Great – most excellent post.
My great concern at the moment is that every time I think I find something that I'm passionate about I get bored of a few months later – does that mean I've not found it yet? Or that I just have a restless personality? Or is life an endless quest to find that one thing? Wow, I guess I really need to read this book. Thanks for the tip Pip!