Maybe “Follow Your Passion” Isn’t Such Good Advice After All

For years, I believed in the advice:

“Follow your passion.”

It sounds wonderful.

Almost poetic.

Find what you love. Do what excites you. Turn your passion into your profession.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

Over the years, though, I have become a little less convinced.

Not because passion is unimportant.

But because I have seen enough people—including myself at different stages of life—to realise that passion and career don’t always arrive together.

Sometimes, you discover your passion after you become good at something.

And sometimes, you begin to enjoy something simply because you have become good at it.

That distinction matters.

I have noticed something interesting

Some people are very passionate about photography but would hate spending eight hours a day as a professional photographer.

Some people love travelling but probably wouldn’t enjoy running a travel company.

And some people never imagined they would enjoy the work they eventually became very good at.

I have met many such people during my professional journey.

What changed their relationship with work wasn’t necessarily the job itself.

It was the experience they had while doing it.

They felt trusted.

They had some control over how they worked.

They became competent.

They were surrounded by people they enjoyed working with.

And gradually, something interesting happened.

They started liking the work.

Perhaps that is why I am increasingly uncomfortable with the simplistic advice to “follow your passion.”

Because a career is not always about finding something you already love.

Sometimes it is about finding something worth becoming good at.

And then discovering that you love the person you become while doing it.

There is another thing I have learnt

Early in our careers, we tend to ask:

“What do I want to do?”

Later, perhaps the better question becomes:

“What kind of work brings out the best in me?”

There is a difference.

The first question is about the job.

The second is about the experience.

Do I have enough autonomy?

Am I learning?

Do I feel competent?

Do I enjoy the people around me?

Do I feel that what I am doing matters?

These things can completely change how we experience work.

And perhaps this explains why two people doing exactly the same job can have completely different levels of satisfaction.

One is miserable.

The other is thriving.

The job hasn’t changed.

Their experience of the job has.

I have also become wary of another piece of advice:

“Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life.”

Maybe.

But I suspect there is another, less glamorous truth.

Sometimes you work first, become good at something, gain confidence, earn trust, build relationships—and somewhere along the way, you begin to love the work.

Not because it was your childhood dream.

But because it became your work.

That has been one of the more humbling lessons of my professional life.

I no longer think everyone needs to discover their one great passion before choosing a career.

Sometimes, you just need to find something meaningful enough to commit yourself to.

Passion can follow competence.

And sometimes, it follows much later.

Maybe the better career advice is not:

“Follow your passion.”

Maybe it is:

“Find something worth doing. Become good at it. Build relationships. Create some autonomy. And see what happens.”

You may be surprised.

I know I have been.

What has been your experience?

Did you choose your career because you were passionate about it—or did the passion come after you became good at it?

I would genuinely like to hear from people who have travelled both paths.

Sometimes we don’t find our passion. Sometimes we build it.

The Journey is yours. The Learning doesn’t have to be.

Global Learning Centre (GLC) is being built around two journeys:

FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

Helping aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs develop the clarity, capability and confidence to turn ideas into sustainable businesses.

FOR VETERANS — THE SECOND INNINGS

Helping Armed Forces veterans translate their leadership, discipline, experience and capabilities into meaningful opportunities beyond uniform.

The journey doesn’t end here. Let’s stay connected.

My Books | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Medium | Website