How to choose your passion ?

By Kavya NSV

I have recently finished reading the most wonderful self-help book, that made me question 19 years of existence ”THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK”. Although the book has left me in deep thought about so many aspects, there was one in particular that changed the way I look at life through the eyes of passion and success. So I decided to share my thoughts, starting with a story.

Often through childhood, I was a creative kid, I had set my foot into everything starting from music, dance, and art. I was part of the school debate team, an athlete and most importantly I was profoundly good at math and science. Just like any other, I had so many dreams about what I wanted to do with my life, I wanted to go to the best university, I wanted to travel, I wanted to do something cool. Reality?! I’m going to hit 20 in a month and I’m pursuing my bachelor's in technology from a local college and living with my parents, which is not bad at all!! But it’s just not what I pictured for myself. So, where did I go wrong?

Remember I told you I was good at math and science, yeah so starting from grade 7, I ended up going to coaching classes for IIT entrance exam. It wasn’t my parent’s decision but it was me who dreamed of studying in one of the best universities in the country. It was something I called “my passion”. I wanted to get into the best institute but was lazy enough to work for it. Although I was a good student, the rest were better than me and the outcome, I didn’t make it to the IIT (but I still managed to get into a good college, good for me:D). The problem was, I was in love with the idea of getting into the best university but not in love with studying the subject which could actually get me there and that’s exactly why I didn’t make it. Can you relate?

So the story goes on. Right through my 2nd year of bachelors, while working as one of the editors for my college magazine I realized my love for writing and started working on it. Let me tell you it isn’t easy either, I was blogging on various sites before, did not know if my writing made any sense because my friends were the only ones reading it. And here I am today telling you people all about choosing your passion through our website (Progress yay!).

But just when we were happy about starting a website we realized, there is a lot of work that goes into blogging like designing the website, digital marketing, a bit of Photoshop (blah blah blah..) and we didn’t know a bit. There have been days, I ended up sitting in front of the screen for 10 hours without moving my butt learning all the stuff that was utterly new (Still is!), but you know what? I love it this time. I love spending my Sunday afternoons drafting a blog post, trying to get better each week. I love spending my sleepless nights trying to design our website and make it look even better. It was still a struggle but I wasn’t lazy this time, but why?

Don’t worry, there is a reason I told you this long, boring story of mine. YES, it does relate to the title “How to choose your passion”. But before you get on to that part, there are a few rules of life that you should take note of.

1. You will never be completely satisfied in life 

And yeah that’s human nature. Do you happen to think you will be done once you have a walk-in closet full of branded clothes or a garage full of Ferraris? AH, NO! You would always want to reach the next level, and that’s the beauty of human life. That is exactly the reason why we are here and the monkeys are in the zoo.

2. Problems are everywhere

You have to struggle once you get your dream job, and you to struggle if you don’t get it. There are problems to solve for the CEO of Google and there are problems to solve for the postman in my street. You just have to choose which problems you are willing to take.

3. Having good values determine your happiness.

This is the most important of all, your values determine what you consider as success and failure. If money holds an important role in your life, you will always end up measuring your success based on the amount of money you make and you will never be satisfied (because point 1), instead, if your values include doing the job you love even while making a decent amount of money, you will still end up feeling both successful and happy at the same time.

The Final Answer!

The answer is quite simple, Choose a struggle you enjoy, that is your passion. Read it again, a struggle you enjoy is your passion. Because you only attain success if you struggle for it.  People who enjoy the struggle of being an actor, going from one audition to the other, are the ones that make it big. People who constantly struggle and work out every day are the ones that end up looking fit.  And once you have struggled and you are finally fit and have the body that you have dreamed of, you wouldn’t stop because if you would, you’ll lose it all, you have to struggle all your life and the same goes with your passion, so make sure you choose the struggle you enjoy because it is a commitment for life.