Passion
A feeling that keeps your will to live wildly alive. Oxygen of the soul and energy of the heart. An intagible emotion that inspires you to carry out your dreams every day.
Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you
Elon Musk once said: “People should pursue what they´re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else”. I like the way Elon formulated it, in whatever way he meant it, for me, it actually expresses how I understand and live my passion(s). Many of us are hunting that passion, figuring out what it is, so we can build our career on something we love, so then “we love what we do”. Unfortunately, with many people, it is not the case. Neither in my story entirely.
Multi-passionate
It is not just one particular thing that many of us love to do. We can have a passion for multiple things. I have. The struggle was when deciding which university and direction I wanted to go and kick-start my professional career. From early childhood until my teenage years, I pursued guitar and singing, I was doing athletics and at the same time, I was studying in the Gymnasium where I enjoyed subjects such as history, ethics, and philosophy and wanted to know more. When it came to deciding which university I should go for, I had options, either with my passion for guitar continue with Art School, or with my broader passion for humanities go for Law or Social Sciences.
Since I was a little girl “I wanted to be a singer and guitarist” but when I had to decide, I needed to be realistic and my inner voice was telling me: “as much as you love music, you want to help people and be part of a community with a mission to achieve it”. Back then, I did not know exactly, what I need to become in order to “help people” so I chose law. During bachelors I realized, this is not how I want to help people, not as a lawyer. So I quit right after Bachelors and moved to Denmark to pursue a Master’s degree in International Security and Law. This opened multiple doors for me and I finally found my direction and love for NGO (Non-governmental organization) work. Leading projects that change peoples´life fulfills my life and give meaning to what I do.
You are not rewarded for having talent, just for using it!
What happened to my “music career”. Will Smith said: “No matter how talented you are, your talent will fail you if you´re not skilled. Skill is achieved through practice. Work hard and dedicated yourself to being better every single day.” I could not agree more. I stopped practicing the guitar and singing at the peak when I was 18. Either I would embrace my talent and work hard from then and onwards or just leave my talent and use it occasionally. I did that. I even stopped playing guitar for some years. I forgot how much I loved it while focusing on my second passion “helping people”.
From time to time, I took the guitar to check myself, if I can still play. Surprisingly, I still can. Now, when I am an adult and my life is circling around my job and private life, it is not until recently, I discovered the power of getting back to my guitar and singing.
Acceptance, that my huge love for music will not be the leading activity in my life is freeing. Realizing, that not being professional but only the amateur is okay and comforting. Knowing all this, makes my time spent with the guitar valuable, meaningful, and empowering. It is a well-spent time on something that takes my thoughts away from everyday reality. It is the time when my soul and heart smile, even though my face sometimes can´t. It is a temple, where I can escape and come back refreshed and happy.
Your profession does not have to be your passion
I am privileged, that my professional career is still something I have a fire for. Unfortunately, many people from practical and realistic reasons have to choose the job they do not love. Of course, cliché such as “follow your dreams, it is never too late, etc” has some power. But let´s be realistic, it is the long run, sometimes without a happy ending.
At the end of the day, people must eat. Those who do their job just to pay the bills obviously have no choice. But we all have a choice of how to spend our free time. When you pursue your passion, that failed “dream work”, you can still gain a lot from the time spent on it, even if it´s not professional at all. It gives you the purpose beyond that “boring job”.
If you love your job and simultaneously pursuing other passions of yours, then you got it all. It is all about time and the feeling of spending it meaningfully. You can create your balance. I started to find my balance too. So I got back to the guitar. Not as a professional but as a mindful person who wants to make every minute of the life worthy.
Is my passion worthy of your time? Then check out my terrace-sun session. Is it not worth it? That is okay too. Because I do it for myself, to make myself happy, so I can share that happiness with people around me.
Your and my passions make the World a better place. But it starts with You!
-Tina-