Randi Kreiss

There’s what you love to do, and then there’s work

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I had a conversation recently with a 30-something friend who feels unhappy because, to use her word, she isn’t “passionate” about her work. She has a good job in a law firm, makes nice money and has a reasonable schedule. But, she says, she grew up hearing that she should find her passion and then discover a way to turn that into a business or a job.

As I think about it, it’s a generational thing, and a great disservice to young people, to suggest that they will necessarily find work that melds with their passion in life. Yes, sometimes all the stars align, and the young man who is fascinated with the violin is brilliantly talented as well, and can turn his passion into a career. A young woman who loves to bake, dreams about cupcake recipes and has the resources to attend a culinary school may fuse her life interest with a business opportunity. When worlds collide in this serendipitous way it is a great, good thing.

But more often, life evolves differently. Some people have no passions at all. That’s not to suggest that they’re unhappy. They live their lives, work at jobs and find pleasure and satisfaction in family or sports or hobbies. They’re not prone to navel-gazing, and they enjoy their days.

Others do have passions, separate from work, passions that don’t translate into paying jobs. I am passionate about bridge and cooking and hiking and collage. That doesn’t mean that I’m particularly good at any of those activities. I just love doing them; I couldn’t make a living at any one of my passions. My son is an all-in, highly skilled fisherman. He reads drifting seaweed like some people read tea leaves. But that’s not how he contributes to the support of his family.

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