“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why” -Mark Twain Passion is a part of choosing a career or goal that is often overshadowed by knowledge. According to cleverism.com, only 20% of working Americans feel very passionate about their jobs.
Many Americans overlook passion while job-searching or while choosing a major in college and then get stuck with a job that they do not like. Many people just think that the more money that a job pays, the better it is for them. According to the Washington Post, only 27% of college graduates have a job related to their major. Many people think that once they have the knowledge to have a certain job, then everything will work out perfectly, but this is usually not the case.
People do not have the passion for a job that they have a degree for and end up doing something different and having all of the knowledge of the career for nothing. Passion is more important than knowledge in a career because having a passion for your job increases your chance to succeed, it makes you happier, and it makes you try to your full potential.
Having a passion for your career increases your chance of success. Having passion for something makes you want to succeed more. If you fail at doing something you are passionate about, it will make you disappointed in yourself. If you just have knowledge of something, you probably would not care as much about succeeding. An author at usnews.com said, “Doing work you love is energizing”.
While doing work that you love, you can get things done faster and more efficiently. If you always do something that you have no passion for, it will get old quickly and make you not want to do as much or learn as much about your job. When you have a job, career, or task that you have a passion for, finding success will be much easier.
Having a passion for your job makes you happier. Having a reason to go into work every day can be a morale booster. If you wake up every day not enjoying what you do, then it will feel like there is no reason to even get out of bed. Having passion for something makes it so you are happier and can feel like there is a reason to do things every day.
Curt Rosengren of usnews.com said “Doing work you do not enjoy is like trying yo be who you are not”. Having a passion for something makes you happier by making you feel like your true self. When you have a passion for something, it makes you feel like you can be as creative as you want, which will make you happier.
Having a job that you feel passionate about makes you feel better about yourself, and that you have a true purpose, which makes you happier. Having a passion makes you try to your fullest potential. Liking what you do makes you try to your fullest potential because having a passion makes it feel like you are not working. When you hear the word work, you automatically think negative.
When you like what you do, it does not feel like work, and more like exploring your true potential. Psychologist Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia put this thought process to the test, and he made an experiment where he gave people a word puzzle and then told them to squeeze an exercise grip for as long as they could, and the people who enjoyed the word puzzle kept squeezing the exercise grip for the longest time. This psychological study shows that when you enjoy doing something, it makes you more likely to try harder.
Whether it is an actual career or just squeezing an exercise grip, having a passion makes a difference in how hard you try. When you have a passion for something, you try as hard as you can, because it does not seem like you are working.
Many people believe that knowledge or skill for a subject is more important than simply passion. Albert Einstein said, “Information is not knowledge”. This quote explains how knowledge is not always strictly information, but also awareness and familiarity. To be familiar and aware of a subject puts you very far ahead of others who might have passion and not experience.
To become a doctor, the qualifications you need are a bachelor’s degree, take the MCAT, a medical degree, completion of a residency program, a license, and certification. You need at least some passion for a job, but you also need a lot of experience and knowledge in the field for most jobs as well.
Hypothetically, if there were two candidates for a job and one had a lot of knowledge and experience without much passion, and another had a lot of passion with little knowledge of the field, the one with knowledge would most likely be hired. Some believe that knowledge is more valuable than passion.
Passion makes you more successful in a job than knowledge does. Oprah Winfrey said, “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” Continuing to do something that you are not passionate about, then it is emotionally tiring.
Doing something that you are passionate about energizes your mind and soul. The philosopher Plato said about passion “Who are the true philosophers? Those whose passion is to love the truth.” Even ancient philosophers 2000 years ago, like Plato, believed in following your passion.
Passion for a job gives you a higher chance for success, raises happiness, and unlocks your full potential. Anyone can have knowledge for anything, but passion is subjective.
