Don’t (just) follow your passion

Nowadays, follow your passion has become a motto.

I believe it is overrated.

Passion can come and go in the blink of an eye. Because of its intensity, people sometimes mistake it as the substance although it is, in truth, nothing more than the heat of a moment.

I do not deny the importance of a spark. We all need to start somewhere, and passion can be a signal that this may be a Path worth travelling. However, as we progress further, obstacles reveal, the initial feeling is buried under layers of doubts. “Am I going to make it?” “Is this for me?”

Eventually, the flame wears out, completely shut.

We celebrate victors, those with the will and courage to carry on until the end. We look up in admiration without realising all the dark time that forged their spirits. It is less known that winners care little for the fame at the end. After all the trials, pain, sweats and tears, to be where they are is simply the inevitable.

That is not passion; it is resilience.

And the world needs that.