Concern, Suggestion Game

[infinitemsinspirit]

 

  We all have concerns and questions, and I think suggestions can help us come up with a solution or at least give us another opinion. So in this game, give a suggestion for the concern of the commenter above you, and vent one of your concerns so you can get a suggestion. If nothing else, we can at least compliment each other and let each other know how much we are worth. It doesn't even have to be a concern; if you need to make a decision and can't seem to, you can ask our opinions too. Maybe, we might be able to solve a few problems here

 

 

So I'll start with one of my concerns...

I can't decide what I want to do with my life (career), even though I know what things I am good at. If you found your passion, could you tell me your experience?

 

EDIT: Thank you guys for suggesting things for my concern but remember to post something you’re unsure about as well so the next person can give you advice

[Lmangla]

1 hour ago, infinitemsinspirit said:

So I'll start with one of my concerns...

I can't decide what I want to do with my life (career), even though I know what things I am good at. If you found your passion, could you tell me your experience?

sometimes we break our heads too much because we feel like we need to have a plan. part of that is peer pressure. when I was in uni, it felt like everyone had figured things out and had a set agenda. so I came up with a plan and ... nothing happened! the economy tanked and I couldn't get a job for over a year.

 

what's my point? just because you have figured out things doesn't mean it will go your way. and just because you haven't a plan doesn't mean that you are in a bad place either. there are going to be setbacks and all sorts of bumps. in terms of figuring out your passion, sometimes it can be just life as you learn. I sort of stumbled onto figuring out what I liked, what I am good at and it all coming together.

 

it really does help plenty if you like the job you are at because there are days when you will not want to get up in the morning to go to work. working in a job which you have no passion for makes it 1000 times worse; it can even make you physically sick when you get to the point of dreading it. even with a stupid dreadful job that you wish you can wipe off your resume, there are lots of skill sets and life experiences you pick up and and it can prove useful in very different ways. so focus on sharpening your skill set instead and things will fall into place eventually....

 

 

[halfmoonsmile]

I am worried that I won’t be able to travel by the end of this year. I really wanted to go to either France, Japan or even to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. The trouble is that I’m not sure what job I could take there and Whether or not I could take my cat. It’s important that I take my cat because my mom is terrible with her. I also do not want to put her in anybody’s care because I don’t trust anybody to take proper care of her. My cat is not troublesome. I just don’t trust people because I keep hearing about cats being abandoned by irresponsible foster owners.

[orangeman]

On 11/2/2018 at 11:43 PM, infinitemsinspirit said:

If you found your passion, could you tell me your experience?

 

I'm quoting a very specific part of this and will only address that. First off, something I always bring up when the topic of passion comes up. Take it from the mouth of Thomas Keller:
 

Quote

 

It’s not about passion. Passion is something that we tend to overemphasize, that we certainly place too much importance on. Passion ebbs and flows. To me, it’s about desire. If you have constant, unwavering desire to be a cook, then you’ll be a great cook. If it’s only about passion, sometimes you’ll be good and sometimes you won’t. You’ve got to come in every day with a strong desire. With passion, if you see the first asparagus of the springtime and you become passionate about it, so much the better, but three weeks later, when you’ve seen that asparagus every day now, passions have subsided. What’s going to make you treat the asparagus the same? It’s the desire.

 

 

I'm in a profession that runs on passion. Probably childhood/adolescent media-influenced dreams conflated with naivety and often some sort of preexisting financial backing that eliminates the need to think about financial solidarity. The hours stayed up late in school are whisked away as labors of love. The grind through are given the same reason: I'm passionate about doing this, I love doing this. Then the real world hits and the actual profession is incredibly different that what was portrayed in school. Walk in at 9am, handed off two big tasks, finish by 3:30 with meetings and interruptions. No fun late nights, deadline at 5pm but it's already 8pm and you're behind. Passion? No deviating from office standards. Want to try something different? No deviating from office standards. What doesn't produce money is not considered. Do this for awhile and I doubt that same eager passion walks in the door everyday.

 

So a few things about passion. The first big takeaway as Keller states above is that passion dissipates. It is more or less that honeymoon period where everything is great through rose-tinted glasses. Then work is work and personal expectations fall below starry ideals. Do you stick to the job or think about moving on? What is so different elsewhere if even the most basic lowly tasks are not fueling any motivation? The turning point of any young person's career is this decision to persist or resign and look elsewhere. A reason why most have a bunch of related internships before graduation now is not only to escape that entry-level experience hole but to also get a grasp into whatever they're studying for. I'm in school for this but what is it like in the field? Books can't teach you that and personal experiences all differ because everyone has their own ways of adjusting to work.

 

If you understand what a job/profession entails, passion can be the stepping stone towards somewhere better with time. That accepts the reality of the present and comes to terms of what to expect later on even if passion disappears for a few years. Careers are long-term projects, you best know what you're getting into. Another is to accept that work is work and as long as you find something tolerable and enjoyable to some degree, then do your best to collect the paycheck and pursue things on the side. Maybe those are pursuits without monetary gains but also little long-term financial consequences. So what if a hobby fizzles out and costs $500 in the end? Time and money traded for personal nourishment is perfectly normal.

 

Or that side interest develops into something big and becomes your new career. Which leads me into this: unless you run your own business, you don't have any say in the level of passion you can commit. And of course this would mean there is no perfect job listing. Working for someone is always some sort of personal autonomy tradeoff and without the risk of being a high-value individual (not hierarchy manager but partner or principal), don't expect to be heard too often. Ideas typically flows downwards and employees in the lower tiers are going to be assigned work instead of having any say on the matter. Lack of control of one's own path can stymie desire never mind those random bouts of fleeting passion stomped on by do-now requests. 

 

Something that's often mentioned about millennials is the desire to make work (and workplace) their whole identity. Perhaps it is the prevalence of startup culture on social media which turns the traditional workplace into basically a frat house. Staying up late and never leaving the same cohorts for weeks on end. Flexible scheduling to do anything until you realize you're at work all the time and shunned if you try to make time for anything else. Don't you believe in our idea? So much for our, huh? Hobbies seem to have disappeared somewhere between not maximizing free time or being dissatisfied with any job that doesn't instill passion in the initial offer. It's too much to ask of any job to provide passion especially in the corporate mentality of filling seats with warm head-down-make-money bodies. You are there to make money for someone else, your passions are relevant only if they help make money. Passionate people are generally at odds with existing establishments anyways so it's all really moot to talk about complete personal contentment in a tightly structured workplace.

 

Sometimes passions don't translate to work that anyone wants to pay for; sometimes you don't want to monetize everything about you. It all goes back to developing and leveraging whatever skills and experience you accrue over time to be in a position to be at your personal best throughout the workweek. You can hopefully apply your interests and passions to the position then. Or not and return home to them every night with unfettered devotion.