The passion paradox❤️‍🔥

We now live in a world surrounded by media guru’s evangelizing passion as our most important driving force. And thanks to social media, the internet has assured to shove down our throats every single piece of content related to “pursuing our passions” as if that were the ultimate key for happiness and fulfillment.

Everythere we look there’s a new content creator telling us about the importance of finding our passion and how this seemingly infinte source of energy can turn our lives upside down and allow us to achieve everything we desire.

Though, here’s what this people haven’t told you:

Your passion may be the very thing holding you back from power or influence or accomplishment. Because just as often, we fail with - no, because of - passion. - Ryan Holiday

Early on her already ascendant political career, a visitor once spoke about Eleanor Roosevelt’s “passionate interest” in a certain piece of social legislation.

This person meant this as a compliment, but Eleanor’s response provides some clarity about her true motivation:

“Yes, I do support the cause. But I hardly think the word “passionate” applies to me.”

If not passion, then what?

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld were passionate about Iraq.

American adventurere Christopher McCandless was bursting with passion as he headed “Into the Wild”.

So was British Royal Navy officer when he set out to explore the artic, as were many climbers who were part of the tragic 1996 Everest climb.

Passion = Goalodicy

Often described as a obsessive persuit of goals that lead to a point of self-destruction, Goalodicy is a psychological term which can easily define what passion is and its effects.

Passion deals directly with emotions, which is not to say is necessarily bad, but as we’ve learned, emotions are on the opposite side of the spectrum of rationalty.

Hence, passion drives us to make decision based solely on how we feel and what we desire to accomplish, thus leaving us unprepared, and incapable of grasping the objections and real concerns.

Though passion may have some benefits, like caring, it also has some powerful downsides.

Passion can be similar to a unbridled enthusiasm and a willingness to pounce on what’s right in front us without some planning before hand.

Being passionate es equal to being a zealot.

How modern media shapes our perception of passion

Because we only seem to hear about successful people and how passionate they are, we often forget that people who failed shared the same trait.

As Ryan puts it: Passion can be easily found in those who’re able to tell you everything about what they’ll achieve in the future, but they cannot show you their progress because there’s rarely any.

So the question remains:

• How can someone be busy and not accomplish anything?

This is the passion paradox.

Passion is the mental retardation that blunts us from our most basic cognitive features, leaving us blind to reality.

Thus, what we should seek to find is our purpose.

Purpose is like passion but with boundaries.

Purpose is about removing the I from the function and rather asking ourselves our why and for who.

So forget about passion. Emotions will take you nowhere.

Clarity, deliberateness and methodological determination are what will define your success.