On Passion

The other day I saw that my favourite football team was playing a "postseason match". These guys, who just played 60 gruelling games this season, were now flown out to another part of the world to play in random, meaningless games. Do these players ever get a rest?

The response one usually gets when trying to highlight the players' ordeal is, "Oh, it's a dream job for anyone" or "They are paid millions for running around a field". Sure, you get to live your childhood dream, playing a sport you've always loved as a profession, having a lavish lifestyle and a lot of fame, but a high-paying job can still be associated with fatigue and burnout. Never mind the fact that it's something you never stop working on. When you have a desk job and come back home, you can (usually) completely switch off and unwind, but you don't have that luxury when you are an elite athlete. You have to watch what you eat, be in shape, and take care of your mental health, all while executing at the top 1% of all humans, in front of 1000s, who are ready (and even paid!) to judge you if you don't execute on a given day. The job's a privilege, but at the end of the day, it is a gruelling one.

Now, while all of the above are valid rebuttals, I want to make a broader point that is not about the athletes, or even specifically about sport for that matter. I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about what it means to have a "dream job". Growing up, I frequently heard the phrase, "If you like what you do, you'll never work a day in your life". It's very inspiring, and partly the reason behind my stubborn desire to work on something I am truly passionate about. Although I was never skilled enough to be a pro cricketer (every Bombay kid's dream), I am eternally grateful that I was privileged enough that I was given the time to find something I like, and lucky enough to stumble on to something I liked enough to want to work on it. 

However, it made me realise something. That no matter how passionate you are about something, the moment you turn it into a profession, something changes. It's like a flick of a switch in your brain. You start to feel tired working on it. Something that, when you started, you thought you couldn't get enough of, suddenly feels draining. You try finding newer hobbies to unwind from your so-called "passion" (what do you think I am doing here!). How could it be? Did I trick myself? If this is something I truly like, surely it should feel like I am "never working a day in my life".

After some more reflection, and a lot of bothering my friends, who are also following their passion, about it (@arun, thanks in particular), I seem to arrive at the following conclusion. Whatever work one does, no matter the passion, or the amount of zeroes on the paycheck, it still counts as work. It is still time spent dealing with something difficult. 

Something I started noticing, further, is that every time I failed while working, I just wanted to keep going and going at it till I solved it. And whenever I achieved something, I felt this great sense of satisfaction. It felt more meaningful than just solving a problem, or writing a paper. The trick with passion isn't that work isn't difficult or tiring, but that, when you wake up the next day, you are still motivated enough to work on it for its own sake. 

So I'll leave you with this: pursue your "dream job" and do what you like, not because "you'll never work a day in your life", but simply because you'll never feel like giving it up for anything else.

P.S. 

1. This was originally supposed to be a rant on sport, player exhaustion and how they are treated as commodities for entertainment. For more of that flavour, consider watching this video : When do these dudes get a break

2. There is also a Hank Green video where he addresses something similar (i.e., passion). I cannot seem to find it, but if someone knows what I am talking about, please send me the video!