Sometimes I wonder if people who say things like “just follow your passion” even believe their own advice. I swear, most people just repeat advice they hear other people say just because they think it sounds safe. It’s like they’re all reading from the same script.
You know who says “just follow your passion”? People who are already rich. And if you just do a little digging, you’ll find that they also didn’t get rich from following their passion. This kind of conventional wisdom is especially damaging to those of us with ADHD.
What does it even mean to follow your passion? I currently have about 6 and a half passions, maybe 7 since I started writing this. And if you’re anything like me, you also have multiple passions that come and go, seemingly on a whim.
So how are you supposed to know which passion will be the one you’ll love doing through 2,080 hours per year until you’re in your 60s? How long will it take before you find that one passion?
Notice how the “follow your passion” meme actually makes less sense the more you think about it.
I’ve had well over 30 jobs in my life. For at least 5 of those jobs, I was certain that I finally found my passion. 3 months later, I was already over it and dreading my job. By the time I reached my thirties, I had the realization that passion isn’t something you pursue.
Passion comes when you follow your curiosity and focus on what you find engaging.
As someone with ADHD, when your curiosity is sparked, you experience an explosion of dopamine, which gives you a motivational boost to get through difficult challenges and acquire new skills faster.
Now, here’s the part that those dishing out meme career advice are not going to tell you. Mastering anything in life requires hard work and having the energy and patience to persevere.
You need to be disciplined, undergo an apprenticeship to learn your craft and learn as many skills as possible. This is a painful process, but in my experience it was much less painful than forcing myself into a “farmer” world as someone with a “hunter” mind.
Jim Rohn once said, “everyone must choose one of two pains. The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
The ADHD curiosity advantage is that when follow your curiosity instead of your passion, you can explore with intent and discover other areas of interest that you can integrate into your skill set.
Whether this leads to epic failure or discovering your life’s work, following your curiosity increases the chances of finding your true passion and reduces the risk of feeling stuck in a career path you’ll end up hating.
This is the unconventional path of the polymath where your multiple interests across seemingly unrelated areas intersect and are leveraged as your most valuable asset. All fueled by your naturally creative curiosity.
So instead of following your passion, follow your curiosities, passionately.
Stay curious my friend.