Chicken or the Egg

In last Saturday’s job section of the New York Times, there was an article called, “Follow a Career Passion? Let it Follow You,” in which the author, Cal Newport, rebuffs what he calls the “Cult of Passion,” saying that we find our passion by doing a job, not the other way around. It may surprise you to hear that a coach agrees. After all, we are so often asking, “What is your passion? What do you truly, deeply WANT?” Yet what this author writes about, and what I wholeheartedly agree with (see my recent blog post, “A Job with Purpose“) is that not all of us know, at age 12, what we want to be in life. What I find for many of us is that we get a sense of purpose and passion from different skills and elements of a job. And, we figure out what these are as a result of doing a job. As Cal Newport puts it:

“The traits that lead people to love their work are general and have little to do with a job’s specifics. These traits include a sense of autonomy and the feeling that you’re good at what you do and are having an impact on the world. Decades of research on workplace motivation back this up.”

So if you knew what you wanted to be at age 12, great! But if you went for the banking or marketing job instead of becoming a fireman or ballerina, do not despair. We all have the potential to feel passionate at work. Take a look at my earlier post: “A Job with Purpose”

And, please share your own opinion on this blog. I find that we learn so much from each others’ experiences.