Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Random thoughts: Passion and interest

Recently, there is quite a buzz over the word "passion"

I first saw a video on another blogger's blog about following opportunity and not passion. 

Then there is quite a lot of input about passion, work etc. 

Here are my poison: 

Passion in work and passion in life, are they different? 

They could be, but I think we cannot confuse passion with interest.

If we are willing to spent many hours of our time on something, even sacrificing sleep for it, it have to be passion, right?

Well, I used to sacrifice my sleep for computer games like fallout, romance of three kingdoms, so I am passionate about computer games? 

I think fun and interest will be more appropriate. 

So what is passion? I don't know. But I know interest is not passion. Interest, is time fleeing. The moment u get struck, or did not get a high out of achieving it, u get bored, and u stop doing it. 

Passionate is fuel even in uncomfortable circumstances. When u do well, it recharges you, energies you and propel you to want to do better, better the game, and move up the skill notch. 

But even if u dun do well, you feel like you are letting yourself down. You want to go in and make amends, do it better again. Try other ways, learn, talk to people, whatever, you want to make a difference. 

Even if u dun level up, u still like doing it. If u dun explore new area in a game, or conquer new enemies, make more money, will you continue playing the game?

But continue doing the "same thing" you are passionate about, it might not be very different, but u still do it, because you see meaning in it. You still feel satisfied, because what other see as "more or less the same", you know there is hell a lot of difference

So I first dun agree that if we make a living out of passion, it will kill it. Then it is not passion, it's a interest. 

We dun have to make a living out of our passion, but saying it will kill it is stretching it.

Passion is not making castle in the air. Passion is not dream. While it might be a mistake to follow our dream, it will not be mistake to follow our passion. Dream with execution and action overlap with passion, dream that is "done when I have x in y years" is a day dream. 

Passion is a process, with planning and execution along the way, with satisfaction and anguish building along the way. Yes, we get pissed and annoyed too. And we sometime want to escape, but after a while, it comes back to us, and we will pick up from where we stop. It is not a magic medicine for happiness, it gave you strong emotions, both positive and negative. If you want just the high, going for esctassy pill is perhaps a better medicine choice. 

Do we know our passion? We know when we have it, I think. We cannot assume it is something. Of course, passion might start from a dream and we  knowingly go for it and it was ignited.

You could also have it unknowingly. You can be passionate about your work, your hobby, your life or even in investing.

Did you gave up on "passive" income investing because you found something more passive and perhaps of similar returns? Or did you feel the pain of your mistake but glad that u learn something and tried again, and becoming better at investing, did you become intrigued with how businesses are run. Although perhaps you know that index investing might give better returns, you nontheless still go on? I think that is passion in investing. 

Passion doesn't make you millions la, it just make you look forward to something.  
You can be passionate about saving money too, it is a characteristic, a process, an adjective if u know, but defintely not a static noun.

14 comments:

  1. If passion can be measured in X or Y unit; thing will be easier to quantify passionate or not. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CW,

      Passion cannot be quantified, of course, you have it, you have it

      Delete
  2. Don't follow your passion.
    Bring passion along in whatever you do.
    These are very different attitudes.
    See this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT1i26RbrhM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anon,

      That is the video I am referring to in my post.
      He is looking at it in terms of monetary reward of a job. If that is what you are looking for, of course you go for opportunity.

      Also, as I said, passion is not a 3 min interest, I think I will not be able to find someone who sucks at what he/she is doing if it is really his/her passion.

      Can you really put your heart and efforts to do something and yet sucks at it? Granted you might not still be the top of your game or making hell a lot of money in it, but you should be good at it.

      so nope thanks, I dun buy that video

      Delete
    2. Sillyinvestor,

      Clap, clap.

      Glad you can say, "NO."

      Not everything that is written out there are suitable for us. Saying no is the first step towards filterng out the gems from the bullshit ;)

      Delete
    3. Hey, Smol,

      I quite the intelligent one ok ... LOL.

      Actually I see the point the person is making after stripping out the "grab your attention"
      Technique ...

      Just see the core but dun get confuse.

      When making a monetary decision, you dun want to be crowded out, just like u dun chase a stock when it is hot unless you can buy high sell higher

      Delete
  3. Uncle Temperament,

    By my own definition, that is passion, that is something that keep you going and you are doing it, putting man hours into it, regardless of results.

    Anyway, I felt super "sad" and I am starting to miss my pupils and teaching, not the deadlines and the report writing though

    ReplyDelete
  4. My passion can only last few minutes.
    三分钟热度

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anon#2
    I guess passion is like being addicted, but with more self control/awareness.
    If an undertaking spanned over 3 yrs, you became rather proficient in it, but have reached a plateau.
    So if cont'd, its called passion.
    If get on with your life, its called ....?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon#2

      Hmm... Dun know? Call a life long habit??

      Delete
    2. Anon#2
      Wait, I know!
      Its called ready for the next passion.

      Delete
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