Money vs Passion - The unending dilemma | Mehak from IIM Shillong
I also had such a standoff very recently, wherein I had to choose the Master's degree that I had to pursue. Where on the one hand, I wanted to start my own primary school, the thought of having someone else to pay the price for my dream wouldn't leave me. Also, the unparalleled joy of weaving my vision into reality on my own wouldn't materialize if I had started it then. So I chose to go ahead with my MBA, towards being financially independent and building the foundation for my school.
Most successful people out there usually quote that they 'love what they do'. It instinctually leads us to the logic of 'do what you love', but as in the words of Gordon Marino, there is a life beyond 'do what you love'. If we apply reverse engineering here, we will find that loving your work is miles away from professionalizing what you love. According to Carl Newport, when one develops a rare and valuable skill, one moves onto the path of career satisfaction. Anyway, following our Passion is not analogous with our quest towards self-fulfilment.
I distinctly remember choosing Abacus over dance classes as I couldn't manage both daily. So, I shifted my dance practices to weekends, for those abacus classes have sailed me through the sea storm of mathematics and various tests and competitions throughout my junior years. This had my confidence built and had set the ball rolling for me. Thus, I found my peace in those uncommon tricks, which were known to very few.
Self-fulfilment doesn't necessarily come from following one's Passion. For a father, it is fulfilling his children's needs after doing a job that he detests. For a wife, it might come from the sacrifices that she has made for her family. Ben Horowitz suggests that at times, following one's Passion can manifest itself as an inordinately "me" act, which finds its fillip in incredibly selfish motives of a being. It can actually threaten the whole metaphysics of morals. It seems to be taking an easy escape route from one's duties and responsibilities towards pleasure and delectation.
I am a voracious reader and would be the happiest person after hours of devouring fiction novels. But I wouldn't let go of my classes or my assignments because of that. Fulfilling all that I ought to do in itself provides me with a sense of accomplishment and attainment. We have to deal with this on a routine basis, implying that we cannot attach this feeling of self-fulfilment to an uncertain future, which is unforeseen and a mere panorama of our thoughts.
Moreover, there is this fundamental of passion and interests being fluid and inconsistent with various stages in one's lives, along with a bearing of contextual adversities or prosperities. Thus, in the language of economics, following them is not what a rational being would do according to the law of diminishing marginal utility, considering the critical difference between passion and hobbies as hobbies happen to an exception to the law.
One of my seniors completed her MBA when she was 23. After working for a while, she soon realized that it was not her cup of tea, and it was then when her passion for dance and fitness held her hand. She learned professional yoga and took kathak lessons for a year and a half, after which she took up a job at a yoga training centre in her home town. By that time, she was 25 years of age.
The essence of the story lies in the fact that she could give herself that much time so as to evolve herself by the medium of such transition. Had it been a boy, that too in Indian society, he would have definitely succumbed to the pressure of being the bread earner for the family. The point of contention here is that no matter how bad do we want to, things fall in place when they have to, when the time is right.
It is better that we move in the reverse order, create a vision as to what we want our lives to be like, make ourselves capable of living the vision and move towards it, for it is never too late to start. Gladys Burrill ran her first marathon when she was 82, and Raj Kumar Vaishya gave his entrance exam for a Master in Economics at the age of 97.
Mark Twain very rightly said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and day you find out why." Rather than finding out one's passion, one should set one's cap at 'Finding one's Contribution.' Pursuing the same, we discover our own inner selves and move towards a sense of achievement by adding utility and offering the world through our strengths.
Most of the pioneers, who devoted their whole lives to serving humanity, did not necessarily do it to find a sense of meaning, but because they had to. Happy harmony actually exists in utilizing one's talents to fulfil one's quest for meaning, which actually kindles the fire of fulfilment and accomplishment. Maslow's need hierarchy theory holds good and finds its relevance in answering our question of 'Money vs Passion?'.
Synthesizing all of the above, Money vs Passion actually isn't a choice, but a matter of prioritizing. It is a step by step approach that finally leads us towards self-actualization, fulfilling the purpose of our lives.
This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author 2.0 with Dare2Compete.