Find The Thing You're Most Passionate About, Then Do It On ...

[Chip (OP)]

Find The Thing You're Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights And Weekends For The Rest Of Your Life

... from "the onion" > http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/find-the-thing-youre-most-passionate-about-then-do-31742

I have always been a big proponent of following your heart and doing exactly what you want to do. It sounds so simple, right? But there are people who spend years—decades, even—trying to find a true sense of purpose for themselves. My advice? Just find the thing you enjoy doing more than anything else, your one true passion, and do it for the rest of your life on nights and weekends when you’re exhausted and cranky and just want to go to bed.

It could be anything—music, writing, drawing, acting, teaching—it really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that once you know what you want to do, you dive in a full 10 percent and spend the other 90 torturing yourself because you know damn well that it’s far too late to make a drastic career change, and that you’re stuck on this mind-numbing path for the rest of your life.

Is there any other way to live?

I can’t stress this enough: Do what you love…in between work commitments, and family commitments, and commitments that tend to pop up and take immediate precedence over doing the thing you love. Because the bottom line is that life is short, and you owe it to yourself to spend the majority of it giving yourself wholly and completely to something you absolutely hate, and 20 minutes here and there doing what you feel you were put on this earth to do.

Before you get started, though, you need to find the one interest or activity that truly fulfills you in ways nothing else can. Then, really immerse yourself in it for a few fleeting moments after an exhausting 10-hour day at a desk job and an excruciating 65-minute commute home. During nights when all you really want to do is lie down and shut your eyes for a few precious hours before you have to drag yourself out of bed for work the next morning, or on weekends when your friends want to hang out and you’re dying to just lie on your couch and watch TV because you’re too fatigued to even think straight—these are the times when you need to do what you enjoy most in life.

Because when you get right down to it, everyone has dreams, and you deserve the chance—hell, you owe it to yourself—to pursue those dreams when you only have enough energy to change out of your work clothes and make yourself a half-assed dinner before passing out.

Say, for example, that your passion is painting. Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and buy a canvas and some painting supplies! Go sign up for art classes! And when you get so overwhelmed with your job and your personal life that you barely have enough time to see your girlfriend or boyfriend or husband or wife, let alone do anything else, go ahead and skip classes for a few weeks. Then let those paint brushes sit in your room untouched for six months because a major work project came up and you had a bunch of weddings to go to and your kid got sick and money is tighter than you thought it would be and you have to work overtime. And then finally pick those brushes back up again only to realize you’re so rusty that you begin to question whether this was all a giant waste of time, whether you even want to paint anymore, and whether this was just some sort of immature little fantasy you had as a kid and that maybe it’s finally time to grow the fuck up, let painting go, and join the real world because, let’s face it, not everyone gets to live out their dreams.

Not only does that sound fulfilling, but it also sounds pretty fun.

Really, the biggest obstacle to overcome here—aside from every single obligation you have to your friends, family, job, and financial future—is you. And I’ll tell you this much: You don’t want to wake up in 10 years and think to yourself, “What if I had just gone after my dreams during those brief 30-minute lunch breaks when I was younger?” Because even if it doesn’t work out, don’t you owe it to yourself to look in the mirror and confidently say, “You know what, I gave it my best half-hearted shot”?

[Narkotikon]

What if you're apathetic, and your passion is not participating in society?

At some point I think it's healthyl for truly apathetic people to realize this is how their life is, and that it's not going to change.  It can be very liberating, no longer caring what others' think, or how your life doesn't measure up to their perceptions of how you should be. 

That's for the truly apathetic though.  If you're depressed, you should obviously seek treatment to help get over your depression.

[Daughter of Dionysus]

Nark that is true not
Being a part of the crowd is
One off my passions
It allows me to
Do the other things
That I really like
Point is
Can you really be
Passionate about some thing
And be part of the crowd
Back to you

[Chip (OP)]

i used to be apathetic but now i simply just don't bother.

joke.

[10kites]

I'm pretty passionate about gettin high, so thats what I've been doing

for years and years and years............I'm actually pretty good at it by now

[Daughter of Dionysus]

Nark that is true not
Being a part of the crowd is
One is far from one of my passions
When I am properly medicated
It allows me to
Do the other things
That I really like
Point is
Can you really be
Passionate about some thing
And be part of the crowd
Back to you

[Narkotikon]

Nark that is true not
Being a part of the crowd is
One is far from one of my passions
When I am properly medicated
It allows me to
Do the other things
That I really like
Point is
Can you really be
Passionate about some thing
And be part of the crowd
Back to you

So if I read this right, not being part of a crowd is your passion.  And you wanna know if I think you can be part of a crowd, while being passionate about not being a part of one.

I'm not sure if this applies to most people, but I think you can hate being with the crowd, yet still be in one, but only in a limited way.

Everyone has to be around people sometimes.  Whether it's for work, family, friends, etc.  I mean, most people have to be around at least one of those things at some point.  Unless you're an orphan, who works from home, and who has no friends.  I think all three of those is rare though.  It's more regular for people to have to go to work, be around other people, have to participate in the occasional family gathering, and to have at least one friend.  That's just my opinion though.

But for people who hate being around people, I think it's limited in that they can be around people, but not be emotionally or mentally involved with those people.  They'll physically be around the people, but their hearts and minds won't be in it.  They'll be hating it on the inside. 

I know I felt that way when I had to go to work.  Sometimes I just seethed under a smile when I heard people in my group constantly chattering about inane things.  Even more so when they tried to engage me in conversation.  I'm like "can't you people take a fucking hint that I don't want to talk, not just to you, but in general?

That still happens occasionally.  There are two waiting rooms at my therapist's office.  One larger, where most people go.  One smaller, where there are only a few people.  I always go to the smaller waiting room.  A few years ago, when I was in group therapy, there happened to be a lot of bipolar and emotionally needy people in my group.  Literally ever single week when I had to go, some of those people would be in the smaller waiting room. 

I did my usual routine: answer their questions with one-word answers, look at a wall away from them, never make eye contact, sit away from them, etc.  Stuff that most people pick up on and realize that someone doesn't wanna talk.  Well there was one guy who just could not pick up on social cues.  I tried all that stuff for a couple weeks, and he still kept talking to me.  I don't think it was b/c he was trying to be my friend.  I just think he was socially clueless and felt offended that I wouldn't talk to him.  Tough shit.  I'm not there to entertain people.  Plus, it's a fucking waiting room.  Who in the hell talks about personal shit in a waiting room?  I don't.  He did. 

So after a while, I just closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.  I thought surely he'd get the hint.  I mean, who in the hell talks to a sleeping person?  Nope, didn't work either.  He kept talking to me, despite me not answering at all, because, you know, I was "asleep."  He even asked someone "why is he not answering me?"  They replied "I think he's sleeping."  Take a hint!

Anyway, yes, when you have people who don't like being around other people, but are forced to be, I think they just aren't "in" the situation fully. 

As for places like this, where it's social but online, I think the fact that you can disengage by logging off is an outlet in itself.  People don't have to form friendships.  They don't have to interact with members offline.  They only have to stay online for as long as they want.  I think those things apply to people who don't wanna be in a crowd.  They're able to not get fully involved.  Just as much as they want to be. 

Hope this clarifies some things.  Sorry I didn't answer sooner.  I forgot about this thread a while ago. 

[Daughter of Dionysus]

Nark that is true not
Being a part of the crowd is
One is far from one of my passions
When I am properly medicated
It allows me to
Do the other things
That I really like
Point is
Can you really be
Passionate about some thing
And be part of the crowd
Back to you

So if I read this right, not being part of a crowd is your passion.  And you wanna know if I think you can be part of a crowd, while being passionate about not being a part of one.

I'm not sure if this applies to most people, but I think you can hate being with the crowd, yet still be in one, but only in a limited way.

Everyone has to be around people sometimes.  Whether it's for work, family, friends, etc.  I mean, most people have to be around at least one of those things at some point.  Unless you're an orphan, who works from home, and who has no friends.  I think all three of those is rare though.  It's more regular for people to have to go to work, be around other people, have to participate in the occasional family gathering, and to have at least one friend.  That's just my opinion though.

But for people who hate being around people, I think it's limited in that they can be around people, but not be emotionally or mentally involved with those people.  They'll physically be around the people, but their hearts and minds won't be in it.  They'll be hating it on the inside. 

I know I felt that way when I had to go to work.  Sometimes I just seethed under a smile when I heard people in my group constantly chattering about inane things.  Even more so when they tried to engage me in conversation.  I'm like "can't you people take a fucking hint that I don't want to talk, not just to you, but in general?

That still happens occasionally.  There are two waiting rooms at my therapist's office.  One larger, where most people go.  One smaller, where there are only a few people.  I always go to the smaller waiting room.  A few years ago, when I was in group therapy, there happened to be a lot of bipolar and emotionally needy people in my group.  Literally ever single week when I had to go, some of those people would be in the smaller waiting room. 

I did my usual routine: answer their questions with one-word answers, look at a wall away from them, never make eye contact, sit away from them, etc.  Stuff that most people pick up on and realize that someone doesn't wanna talk.  Well there was one guy who just could not pick up on social cues.  I tried all that stuff for a couple weeks, and he still kept talking to me.  I don't think it was b/c he was trying to be my friend.  I just think he was socially clueless and felt offended that I wouldn't talk to him.  Tough shit.  I'm not there to entertain people.  Plus, it's a fucking waiting room.  Who in the hell talks about personal shit in a waiting room?  I don't.  He did. 

So after a while, I just closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.  I thought surely he'd get the hint.  I mean, who in the hell talks to a sleeping person?  Nope, didn't work either.  He kept talking to me, despite me not answering at all, because, you know, I was "asleep."  He even asked someone "why is he not answering me?"  They replied "I think he's sleeping."  Take a hint!

Anyway, yes, when you have people who don't like being around other people, but are forced to be, I think they just aren't "in" the situation fully. 

As for places like this, where it's social but online, I think the fact that you can disengage by logging off is an outlet in itself.  People don't have to form friendships.  They don't have to interact with members offline.  They only have to stay online for as long as they want.  I think those things apply to people who don't wanna be in a crowd.  They're able to not get fully involved.  Just as much as they want to be. 

Hope this clarifies some things.  Sorry I didn't answer sooner.  I forgot about this thread a while ago.

No worries
I totally laughed about
Your waiting room buddy!
I would have eventually told dude
"Shut the fuck up"
"Can't you see I'm taking a nap?"

Some people's children

[Narkotikon]

Nark that is true not
Being a part of the crowd is
One is far from one of my passions
When I am properly medicated
It allows me to
Do the other things
That I really like
Point is
Can you really be
Passionate about some thing
And be part of the crowd
Back to you

So if I read this right, not being part of a crowd is your passion.  And you wanna know if I think you can be part of a crowd, while being passionate about not being a part of one.

I'm not sure if this applies to most people, but I think you can hate being with the crowd, yet still be in one, but only in a limited way.

Everyone has to be around people sometimes.  Whether it's for work, family, friends, etc.  I mean, most people have to be around at least one of those things at some point.  Unless you're an orphan, who works from home, and who has no friends.  I think all three of those is rare though.  It's more regular for people to have to go to work, be around other people, have to participate in the occasional family gathering, and to have at least one friend.  That's just my opinion though.

But for people who hate being around people, I think it's limited in that they can be around people, but not be emotionally or mentally involved with those people.  They'll physically be around the people, but their hearts and minds won't be in it.  They'll be hating it on the inside. 

I know I felt that way when I had to go to work.  Sometimes I just seethed under a smile when I heard people in my group constantly chattering about inane things.  Even more so when they tried to engage me in conversation.  I'm like "can't you people take a fucking hint that I don't want to talk, not just to you, but in general?

That still happens occasionally.  There are two waiting rooms at my therapist's office.  One larger, where most people go.  One smaller, where there are only a few people.  I always go to the smaller waiting room.  A few years ago, when I was in group therapy, there happened to be a lot of bipolar and emotionally needy people in my group.  Literally ever single week when I had to go, some of those people would be in the smaller waiting room. 

I did my usual routine: answer their questions with one-word answers, look at a wall away from them, never make eye contact, sit away from them, etc.  Stuff that most people pick up on and realize that someone doesn't wanna talk.  Well there was one guy who just could not pick up on social cues.  I tried all that stuff for a couple weeks, and he still kept talking to me.  I don't think it was b/c he was trying to be my friend.  I just think he was socially clueless and felt offended that I wouldn't talk to him.  Tough shit.  I'm not there to entertain people.  Plus, it's a fucking waiting room.  Who in the hell talks about personal shit in a waiting room?  I don't.  He did. 

So after a while, I just closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.  I thought surely he'd get the hint.  I mean, who in the hell talks to a sleeping person?  Nope, didn't work either.  He kept talking to me, despite me not answering at all, because, you know, I was "asleep."  He even asked someone "why is he not answering me?"  They replied "I think he's sleeping."  Take a hint!

Anyway, yes, when you have people who don't like being around other people, but are forced to be, I think they just aren't "in" the situation fully. 

As for places like this, where it's social but online, I think the fact that you can disengage by logging off is an outlet in itself.  People don't have to form friendships.  They don't have to interact with members offline.  They only have to stay online for as long as they want.  I think those things apply to people who don't wanna be in a crowd.  They're able to not get fully involved.  Just as much as they want to be. 

Hope this clarifies some things.  Sorry I didn't answer sooner.  I forgot about this thread a while ago.

No worries
I totally laughed about
Your waiting room buddy!
I would have eventually told dude
"Shut the fuck up"
"Can't you see I'm taking a nap?"

Some people's children

LOL.  Yeah, it's funny looking back at it.  Was very annoying at the time.  Eventually I began to resent him.  Like "fucker, I'm not gonna talk to you just to spite you, b/c you're trying to force me to talk."  Like I said, I'm not some waiting room entertainment.  I also don't get people talking about really personal shit in public.  I've heard people talk about all kinds of things in there.  I guess they have no sense of shame or embarrassment. 

As for that guy, I think he was a bipolar guy whose meds weren't working.  I also think he was just socially clueless and a tad needy.  It's kinda sad though.  If I had to guess, he was in his mid-50s.  It must be really tough to live your entire life like that.