Varieties of passion too

by phil on Thursday Jul 19, 2007 1:47 PM

Another addendum to my latest thinking on the pursuit of passion (PoP), is an observation that there's so many different varieties of passion. I can think of different tasks/experiences that have produced different kinds of passions:

1 - A strong sense of destiny or mission - Living like a vagabond
2 - A strong sense of righteousness - Clinging tightly to a really bizzare but totally endorsed sense of fashion and identity
3 - A flow-like sense of time flying - Spending a whole day engrossed in learning some new Flash tool
4 - Tension building up to accomplishment - Working on long computer science projects up until a deadline
5 - A sense of meaning - Doing charity work or working for a cause you really believe in, even if the work itself stinks
6 - Play - Creative composition or improvisational collaboration
7 - A soothing sense of belonging - Living in Japan
8 - A feeling of awesomeness - Winning any type of contest or game, or major achievement
9 - Soothing sense of busyness without discomfort or boredeom - Moderately engaging job among good company
10 - A feeling of value or worth to what you're doing - Sweating for a sweet reward

I'm still staunchly against the idea, though, that you can enjoy any task. I couldn't enjoy, for example, bagging groceries for a year. Maybe if my skillsets were somehow dramatically altered in an accident or if I was, let's say, 14 years old trying to earn enough for a playstation 3, then yes, that would be a good gig.

However, I'm trying to make the point that following the "pursuit of passion" should open doors to a variety of suitable lifepaths, not limit you.