must we have a 'passion'? | INFJ Forum

must we have a 'passion'?

alice144

alice144

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Jun 17, 2011
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I remember back when I was applying to universities this seemed to be the question-du-jour.

Do you really have to like what you do? Isn't it enough to find it interesting/challenging?

Personally, I've never really liked anything I've studied, or school at all, for that instance, but I do it because learning math is way better than putting up with all those awful managers I've had over the years. Sometimes, anyways. But I don't really like it. I think it's interesting and I enjoy it in bitesize doses, but if whatever I was studying at the moment was the be-all and end-all of my existence, I think I'd probably kill myself. I don't like anything that much.

Also, I think when people say, "writing papers about Shakespeare is my passion", they are probably lying, not only to us, but to themselves.

My only goal as far as education is concerned is to learn something useful that someone will hire me for later on. Which I at least like a little bit. But admitting this makes me come off like a 'sell-out', and so I don't.

I wonder a lot whether other people feel the same way, but won't admit it either.

Just thinking out loud.
 
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Honestly I think most people go to university with the end goal of getting a good job, not out of any great passion for their course. But your question is more broad: must we have a passion? In general life... yeah. Think about it, that time is going to pass either way, so why not make time to do something you truly love, and use your other activities to supplement/support it? I have a belief that no experience goes to waste, even negative experiences, and passionate experiences in particular can be tremendously telling. They'll unviel what truly drives you, what you'd do rain hail or shine, what gives your life meaning. Without passion of some kind, even just the passion to survive another day, life can easily descend into a soulless grind.
 
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I think havign a passion has its own positives and negatives vs being relatively even handed about things.

Sometimes I think if I had a passion it is something that would drive me insane trying to pursue it. Sometimes I think of it as a sickness. However there is something profitable about chasing some kind of talent until you do it so well that you cannot do it wrong. MAybe I have a passion but I just see it as a normal thing? Probably not. Can moderation be a passion? That might be mine haha.
 
People. I think most infjs have one deep passion : exploring and trying to understand themselves and other human beings. Doesn't mean we all should study psychology, which is quite a cold subject. But we are generally deeply, constantly interested in people.
 
If anyone occupies him/herself with something they thoroughly enjoy all day long, every day - such a person is usually called a wanker. (Not in the sexual sense, but in the self-gratifying sense). In the OP, the example was of a Shakespearean wanker.




I think it is sufficient to be content with what one does, even if it be disagreeable at times; with some enjoyment occasionally thrown in.
 
I reckon if you thoroughly enjoyed what you did for pay, it would tend to make the end result better. Doing something disagreeable for money every day for thirty...forty...fifty years? No thank you. I think I'd rather be a wanker.
 
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We must to some extent otherwise we might as well just lay down and die.
 
agree, I don't think it's necessary to be passionate about something to study it. As someone said, being too focused on a particular passion can work against you. It can become an obsession and rather than getting things done or accomplishing anything real with it, you become so engrossed in the subject matter, you never move on or move forward. Actually, I am better at getting things done out of necessity pr responsibility than real interest or desire to learn it.
 
I've found that the more time and effort that you put into something, the more passionate you become about it. It helps if you can also receive encouragement and can take criticism without losing faith in their competence... and tactful, constructive criticism combined with a lot of positive reinforcement can go a long way towards helping someone nurture a passion.

A lot of educators misconstrue this as nudging someone towards the right answer/whatever is in the book they're using/their personal thoughts on the subject, which is why school so often feels like such BS and actually suppresses independent thought.

Call me a cynic, but in terms of career/jobs, I think that most people's deepest passion is to not feel like a failure, and to get money to buy and do stuff that actively symbolizes their non-failure at life.
 
passion is for the passionate. if you are of the more blasé variety then you probably won't have one.
i don't see anything wrong with that, as long as you aren't boring as shit and coming over to my house all the time.
 
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Belated reply --

Sometimes life is boring, you're not always gonig to love what you're doing 24/7.

But, I think people who know what they love and aren't afraid to pursue it do really well in life. At any rate they have the most fun. Ever heard of Banana George? He has a passion for yellow, and barefoot skiing as well. Managed to make a life/career out of it too! This guy is one of my heroes.

http://www.barefootcentral.info/Banana_George.htm
 
Skathac said:
I reckon if you thoroughly enjoyed what you did for pay, it would tend to make the end result better. Doing something disagreeable for money every day for thirty...forty...fifty years? No thank you. I think I'd rather be a wanker.
Click to expand...

You don't need to be passionate about something to thoroughly enjoy it. I thoroughly enjoy reading but I don't live for it.

I'm not a passionate person, I'm not obsessed with some life dream. I would be content to have a job that engages my mind; to have a partner who I find interesting and to have a good quality of life.
 
Yeah, i need passion. I love what I do at my university, it's why I do it. I do admire people doing maths because they want to get a good job in the future, but I can't study anything, or work with anything, to get a better wage. In fact, it's irrelevant for me, as long as I am happy doing what I love. I aim to do research in history, not because I will get good pay, it's possible I will never succeed becoming a researcher and end up with a massive debt from all years of student loans. But I have to take that risk in order to be happy.
 
I think having a passion is desirable. I have long admired people who have one, it helps to give direction. I feel like I have a great deal of passion inside me but it does not have a focus or outlet, my career is in an area that I have great toleerance for but no strong passion.

I think a lack of passion is one of the motives unlying depression/suicide and not just a state that results from it. I believe it is especially important for types with Fe in particular to have some kind of area passion in which to direct their expressiveness.

In terms of career, I do not think most people find their passion but it is always a pleasure to work alongside the ones that do. Passion does not have to lead to obsesson.i
 
I think passion is desirable for passionate people. Passion makes me weak up every day. You can have many passions and you can be passionate about everything you do, from writing a book to cleaning the streets. It's only a matter of perspectives. You can think of cleaning as a boring job, or you can think you are making a gift to the society, and contributing to improve the world while earning a living.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
 
When you are passionate about something it makes it way easier to be good at it. So choosing something you are passionate about as a career can be a really good decision. I personally must always have a passion, sometimes I exhibit passion-obsessive behavior. I will specialize on something and try to master it, sometimes I neglect other aspects of my life in pursuit of that virtue.

My past virtues make me feel confident about my current ones. I am very confident in my ability to learn something new thanks to always having a passion.
 
Even while I took classes geared toward my degree program (for a "career"), which were interesting in their own way, I noticed that I supplemented my time with classes that were even more interesting to me. And I don't regret them.

You don't have to know the exact passion that you have. Many people may like psychology, but not everyone likes the same aspects of it; not everyone enjoys studying it for the same reasons. But it is best to gear yourself toward the classes that are most engaging for you, and these may not be in your currently chosen course of study.
 
You don't have to be passionate about career selection or something productive. It's possible to be very enthusiastic about something non-productive such as collecting things, listening to music, or fantasy sports leagues.
 
this is only temporary said:
Belated reply --

Sometimes life is boring, you're not always gonig to love what you're doing 24/7.
Click to expand...

Agree, if you get too caught up in the idea that you have be passionate about what you do, then you may not accomplish as much as you would like. It may be an obstacle to gettings done because you're depending on the feeling of being passionate about it to motivate you. I've fallen into that trap. You can like what you do, and sometimes enjoy it but it's not always necessary to be passionate about what you do or study to get something from it or be productive.
 
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