I inherently bristle when I read about this topic, but it has taken me a while to determine why. I think the answer is nuanced. First, and perhaps most importantly to me, I don’t know how to separate promotion of the Passion Principle from what Anne Helen wrote about a month ago as the Dark Heart of Individualism. I think the former perp…
I inherently bristle when I read about this topic, but it has taken me a while to determine why. I think the answer is nuanced. First, and perhaps most importantly to me, I don’t know how to separate promotion of the Passion Principle from what Anne Helen wrote about a month ago as the Dark Heart of Individualism. I think the former perpetuates the latter and puts self over community. Second, the concept of the Passion Principle is loaded. We celebrate those that have a passion for something to such a degree that if a person doesn’t have a passion for something they are somehow sad, lacking, or unfulfilled. Kids are pushed at an early age to start developing their passions to leverage into resumes and essays that will get them into elite institutions. Good for those kids who really are passionate about something; but no judgment should be passed on those who aren’t. Third, following passion will not necessarily result in happiness in employment. What will? That’s up to the individual - it is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. I very much enjoyed my political science major. I now am a government lawyer. The politics drives me nuts! But what is fulfilling about my job is the sense of satisfaction I derive from serving the public and being a voice of reason in a time of unrest. That was not in my top 5 desired job characteristics when I applied. Why not?
From what I've read, the most consistent and reliable source of personal happiness is a good social life. Not drunken Friday Afternoon Clubs, but connections with a network of people you know and care about. It doesn't have to be living in each others' laps. It's the sense that if your house burned down, there would be people around you who would help you get your life back together.
Quite some years ago, my wife and I lived in Fort Collins, CO. We got invited to a party by a couple we knew only casually, through a large, loose social network. It was a grand party on a warm night, and we all took sleeping bags and camped out on their property. He was a tech entrepreneur, and his house was a marvel of passive solar power -- a LOT of power, since he had a lot of computing hardware. He had a small fortune invested in that house.
Some months later, the big fires came through, swept through his property, and took everything except their lives. It was so hot, it reduced a car to a smallish rivulet of metal from the engine block.
My wife and I were saddened and appalled by this, so we went to the bank and opened up a relief fund in their name, then spread the word through their network of friends: send money here. We'd never done that sort of thing before. The response was huge, and it helped them rebuild. But more than that, it let them know they had friends that counted.
I inherently bristle when I read about this topic, but it has taken me a while to determine why. I think the answer is nuanced. First, and perhaps most importantly to me, I don’t know how to separate promotion of the Passion Principle from what Anne Helen wrote about a month ago as the Dark Heart of Individualism. I think the former perpetuates the latter and puts self over community. Second, the concept of the Passion Principle is loaded. We celebrate those that have a passion for something to such a degree that if a person doesn’t have a passion for something they are somehow sad, lacking, or unfulfilled. Kids are pushed at an early age to start developing their passions to leverage into resumes and essays that will get them into elite institutions. Good for those kids who really are passionate about something; but no judgment should be passed on those who aren’t. Third, following passion will not necessarily result in happiness in employment. What will? That’s up to the individual - it is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. I very much enjoyed my political science major. I now am a government lawyer. The politics drives me nuts! But what is fulfilling about my job is the sense of satisfaction I derive from serving the public and being a voice of reason in a time of unrest. That was not in my top 5 desired job characteristics when I applied. Why not?
From what I've read, the most consistent and reliable source of personal happiness is a good social life. Not drunken Friday Afternoon Clubs, but connections with a network of people you know and care about. It doesn't have to be living in each others' laps. It's the sense that if your house burned down, there would be people around you who would help you get your life back together.
Quite some years ago, my wife and I lived in Fort Collins, CO. We got invited to a party by a couple we knew only casually, through a large, loose social network. It was a grand party on a warm night, and we all took sleeping bags and camped out on their property. He was a tech entrepreneur, and his house was a marvel of passive solar power -- a LOT of power, since he had a lot of computing hardware. He had a small fortune invested in that house.
Some months later, the big fires came through, swept through his property, and took everything except their lives. It was so hot, it reduced a car to a smallish rivulet of metal from the engine block.
My wife and I were saddened and appalled by this, so we went to the bank and opened up a relief fund in their name, then spread the word through their network of friends: send money here. We'd never done that sort of thing before. The response was huge, and it helped them rebuild. But more than that, it let them know they had friends that counted.