Don't Follow Your Passion: Do This Instead

You’ve probably heard the old adage “do what you love and you’ll never
work a day in your life.” Unfortunately, that advice is not only outdated,
but it’s also harmful. In today’s job market, following your passion is not a
guarantee of success. The reality is that you’re more likely to be successful
if you focus on building up a skill set that can be applied to a number of
different fields

The Worst Kind of Advice

“Follow your passion” might be the worst career advice you can
receive. Why? For one thing, it’s not actionable. Telling someone to
“follow their passion” is about as helpful as telling them to
“be themselves.” It might make you feel good but doesn’t give you direction.

In addition, this advice often leads people astray. Many people find that
they’re passionate about something until they try to make a career out of it.
Once they realize that their passion isn’t profitable or that it’s not as
fulfilling as they thought it would be, they end up feeling lost and
directionless.

The biggest problem with the “follow your passion” advice is that
it’s not very good. It’s some of the worst career advice you can take. Why?
Because most people are not passionate about their work. In fact, according to
a study by the American Psychological Association, only about 30% of workers
report being engaged in their jobs. The other 70% either dislike or are
indifferent to their work. So, if most people don’t even like their jobs, how
can they be expected to be passionate about them?

 Following your passion is also terrible advice because it completely
ignores the reality of the job market. Just because you’re passionate about
something doesn’t mean jobs are available in that field. And even if there are
jobs available, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get one. After all,
employers are looking for qualified candidates, not just passionate ones.

It Can Lead to Unhappiness

In addition to being lousy advice, following your passion can lead to
unhappiness. That’s because people who follow their passions often end up
working in highly competitive and low-paying fields. For example, many people
who are passionate about writing end up working as journalists or English
teachers—two notoriously underpaid professions. As a result, these people often
work long hours for little pay and appreciation. Not exactly a recipe for
happiness

You Might Not Have a Passion

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a job that they’re passionate about. Most
people don’t. And that’s okay! There are plenty of people who have great
careers and are perfectly content without being passionate about their jobs.
Just because you don’t have a passion doesn’t mean you can’t be successful or
happy.

Even if You Do Have a Passion, It Might Not Be Practical

Even if you are one of the few people with a passion, it might not be
something you can actually make a career out of. For example, say your passion
is playing video games. You might think that you could make a career out of
playing video games, but the reality is that very few people manage to do that.
Or maybe your passion is for writing poetry. That’s great! But again, it might
not be something you can make a living off of.

Passion Can Fade Over Time

Even if you have a practical passion that you can make a career out of, it’s
important to remember that passions can change over time. Just because you’re
passionate about something now doesn’t mean you’ll feel the same way in 10
years. So even if you manage to make a career out of your passion, there’s no
guarantee that you’ll still be passionate about it.

You Don’t Need Passion to Be Successful or Happy

Passion is not the end-all-be-all of success or happiness. You don’t need a
passion to be successful or happy in life. Plenty of people are perfectly
content without being passionately in love with their jobs. As long as you’re
doing something that makes you happy, that’s all that matters.

Do This Instead

So, what should you do if you shouldn’t “follow your passion”
instead? The answer is simple: build a skill set that can be applied to several
industries. When you have a valuable skill set, you do not rely on any
particular industry or sector for your livelihood. This makes you much more
adaptable and resilient in the face of change.

For example, let’s say you’re passionate about fashion design. It’s
certainly possible to make a career out of fashion design, but it’s also an
incredibly competitive industry. If you don’t have the skills or connections to
break into fashion design, you’ll likely end up working in retail or some other
low-paying jobs in the industry. However, if you focus on developing sewing
skills and knowledge of fashion trends, you can parlay those into a career as a
tailor, customer, or stylist. These are all jobs that pay relatively well and
offer good job security.

The next time someone tells you
to “follow your passion,” do yourself a favor and ignore them.
Passion is not a reliable or actionable indicator of success. Instead, focus on
building a skill set that can be applied in several ways. When you have
valuable skills in demand, you’ll be much more likely to find steady work—no
matter what happens in the economy.