The Passion Trap

Nowadays, it's no longer enough to raise salaries in the business world to keep employees happy. For the new generation of workers, jobs that convey both passion and expertise are important.

In the last century, reward strategies such as wage increases were particularly popular. For many of the old hands, the best thing was to have a nice retirement at the end of a professional career with a solid pension and enough money.

Many remained with the same company for decades and eventually saw it as part of their legacy to retire from the company. In the meantime, a change in this area can be seen. For more and more employees, inner satisfaction with work experience plays a crucial role in defining job and career satisfaction.

Many of the new generation are not looking for a job to make a living, they are looking for a vocation. They hear Alan Watts lectures on money or Steve Jobs Stanford Commencment Speech from 2005 and dream of the day when they pursue their passion in life.

Do not get me wrong. These lectures are wonderful and I think Alan Watts is one of the greatest thinkers of the last century and Steve Jobs is a genius beyond all doubt. I think to solve the puzzle around the question “What kind of work should I choose?” passion is an important variable, but there are other aspects to consider.

Maybe you know what your passion is or maybe not, but in any case you do not feel fulfilled with your current work situation.

Should you change the jobs? Change the company? Maybe start an online business or some kind of self-employment? Are you frustrated with your current work situation but you are not sure what exactly passion means to you?

Well, you probably are not alone.

What exactly is passion?

When we start at Wikipedia, we get the following definition:
“Passion (Greek πασχω and late Latin (Christian theology) pati: "suffer") is a feeling of intense enthusiasm towards or compelling desire for someone or something. Passion can range from eager interest in or admiration for an idea, proposal, or cause; to enthusiastic enjoyment of an interest or activity; to strong attraction, excitement, or emotion towards a person. It is particularly used in the context of romance or sexual desire, though it generally implies a deeper or more encompassing emotion than that implied by the term lust.”

When we translate this into our work, passion describes the positive, strong feelings that are associated with our daily action at work, the goals of our work or the people we work with. Having passion at work offers meaning to people. Without purpose, people drive through life underachieving. Often, this feeling can burden self-esteem.

Passion and fun are closely related. Without one, the other would not exist. Work, on the other hand, is simply necessary in our social system to meet our basic needs, to participate in society, and perhaps even to experience some prosperity.

In addition to passion, it is also important to have technical skills that allow you to do the work that you like. How high these technical abilities are rewarded is determined by the market. Market demand and competition in a market sector also determine which level of technical skill is actually paid or not.

Usually, people become passionate when they achieve a certain quality in their technical skills. In general, it can be said that it satisfies people if they feel that they are getting on. The pursuit of technical mastery in every profession is described by many practitioners as very satisfying. It is not the main thing to reach a certain level, but the feeling that you are evolving, even if, for example, you cannot achieve a high goal.

If you combine the necessary with the beautiful, choose a fun job in which you are competent too. This connection is shown in the following graphic:

The ideal job is at the intersection of the three circles. It combines your passionate technical skills with market demand and many people call it “dream job”. You can earn enough money with this job.

These circles are not static but are in a constant flow. Your skills will evolve over time. You will learn new skills and other abilities that are not used are subject to a slow depreciation. Remember the language you learned at school years ago. If you don´t speak regularly, you are slowly forgetting individual words, perhaps the whole language after a long time.

Demand for labor is mainly driven by labor costs and productivity, as well as profit expectations and demand on the goods markets. These factors are constantly changing. For example, the future earnings expectations for blockchain technology are currently high.

If you can program blockchain, you can sell your knowledge to companies at a good price. If the technology turns out to be of no use, the profit expectations in this industrial sector will decline and your knowledge will begin to be less valuable.

Many people who are unhappy with their job are probably outside the interface of the three circles. Many career jobs are in the intersection of green/blue as employees in this field have the skills required to do well at their job and to earn good money but they lack in passion.

People who are looking for passion and neglect the market demand usually fail to earn enough money from their passion alone. They end up in their own passion trap. For example, your passion is horse riding.

From riding horses alone, it is not possible, except for a few Olympic champions, to earn enough money for a living. There is simply not enough market demand and willingness from people or companies to pay to watch horse riding that many practitioners could secure their living by just riding horses all day long.

I don’t want to say that it is impossible.

• You can open a horse riding school.
• You can work as a horse riding instructor.
• You can build an online shop and sell horse riding stuff.

If we enjoy riding horses, we should not automatically conclude that we like commercial horse-related activities in the same way. These activities require other skills, including those that need to be rebuilt and learned from scratch to be successful.

Just because we are passionate about something, we do not necessarily have to be good at it. Think of the number of passionate singers who sing for American Idol but are objectively terrible. Even if you are good in your passion, it doesn’t mean you are good enough to make money from.

Passions change, especially when it becomes a full-time job. Hobbies have the charm that it is not absolutely necessary to reach a certain goal. Many negative emotions, such as stress, can be consciously controlled by the hobbyist. There is another pressure as soon as economic interests have to be achieved.

Famous people like J.K. Rowling make success seem easy. Find out what you’re passionate about, work hard and someday you´ll make it. This is the usual advice we receive in case of job dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately, the reality is not that easy.

Although society idolizes the entrepreneur who quits his job to pursue his dream, the truth is that testing your passion at a competitive level is usually better than giving up your 9-5 job immediately.

Look for ways to pursue your passion from an economic perspective. How can you squeeze money out from your passion? Just go out and try them out.

These experiments will show if you’re good enough in your passion to earn money. You’ll also know if you actually like your passion to do full-time. You are not pressured to support yourself as long as you maintain your day job. There is nothing to lose.

You can also be very successful in your leisure time with your hobby. It is possible to become a Pro Horse Rider next to a full time job. It´s a matter of dedication, perseverance and hard work.

If you feel stuck in your current job, think about the real problem. Do I lack the relevant skills for the job? Do I just hate the tasks? Is the market not rewarding at all? Compare your results to the chart.

And most importantly, don´t feel bad about your current situation. It´s never too late to change. Get to know yourself, set the right goals and move on. A better job is just waiting for you somewhere out there.

Accept that passion is just one part of the formula for job satisfaction.

It is also important not to have too high expectations. The self-discovery process takes time. Improve your situation with each job change until you reach the desired goal. Work step by step. Some people will need fewer job changes, others more. Do not put yourself under pressure.

In the end, you should not feel guilty that you are not constantly pursuing your dreams, you should only feel guilty if you do not pursue your dreams at all.

Yours sincerely,