Lifestyle

Passion is Overrated. What You Really Need Is Discipline

by . July 2nd, 2024

Why is it important to follow your passion?

Following your passion brings fulfillment and purpose to your life. It motivates you to overcome challenges, stay committed, and achieve your goals. Passion drives creativity and innovation, enabling you to excel in your chosen field and lead a more satisfying and meaningful life.

The importance of passion is one of the most persistent lies ever told.

In business conferences and college campuses worldwide, the unwitting are made to believe that “one must follow their passion” or that “passion is all you need to succeed.”

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Well, sorry, it isn’t really all that. At all. Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or lives in an insulated fantasy world.

First, the cult of passion is highly insulting to those who aren’t lucky enough to be born or raised with as many opportunities as others. There’s an implication that if one doesn’t work in a field they’re passionate about, they’re losers. This mindset makes the vast majority of us “losers”, even when our jobs are critical for everything we enjoy in adulthood, including those who may not have discovered their passion until after high school and have spent much time trying different things.

“…the cult of passion is extremely insulting to those who don’t have the luck to be born or raised with as many opportunities as others.”

Every CEO has at least a few hired hands, bidding time and punching in for a paycheck. For every Steve Jobs pursuing their passion, thousands of factory workers in China are making that possible. Maybe employees are passionate about their work, and maybe they aren’t. But they can’t all be, and their work isn’t necessarily less important if they aren’t.

Second and most importantly, passion alone will never get you lasting success. It’s a lousy, oversold quality loved by so-called business gurus whose audiences would rather hear something nice than face the difficult truths about succeeding at anything.

Take New Year’s resolutions. If you made one this year, you’ve probably given up on them by now. You wouldn’t be the only one. Statistically, only 8% of Americans who report having made resolutions succeed in them.

“Surely you can’t generalize entreps — people who put their necks out on the line for an idea — as lacking in passion. Yet they still fail pretty often.

It’s reasonable to assume that most serious resolutions are related to things people are passionate about. If passion alone is enough to succeed, then why are there high failure rates? Is it because they weren’t passionate enough?

That might be occasionally true, but also consider the high failure rates associated with starting a business. According to statistics published by the Small Business Administration, about half of all employer establishments survive at least five years, and a third survive ten years or more. That’s a pretty big failure rate. Indeed, you can’t generalize entreps — people who put their necks out on the line for an idea — as lacking in passion. Yet they still fail pretty often.

Passion is great and can give you that extra drive to succeed. But passion alone will never be sustainable.

Most people who won’t shut up about passion must examine what they can get through discipline. 

Discipline is how good habits are formed, and these will always be crucial to earning success. It provides stability and direction where passion cannot. It builds foundations and also helps you create your own luck.


“Passion as an ideal sells because we all desperately need validation.”

Of course, no one wants to sell the idea of discipline because, to be honest, the way it’s sold kind of sucks. Most of us focus on the negative aspects of discipline — the punishment, the long hours, the drudgery that comes with doing things you’re not “passionate” about. If we focus on its positive aspects and necessity, it’s possible that discipline can become its own habit.

On the other hand, passion is an easy sell simply because it’s an emotional response to something that excites you. It’s not sold because it helps you succeed. Passion as an ideal sells because we all desperately need validation.

You need passion to get started and to succeed, but it’s rarely (if at all) sustainable by itself. Like any other emotional response, passions rise and fall. You can’t always expect to feel the same way about something 100% of the time.

In any case, relying on passion wouldn’t be good for you. Healthy people are not ruled by emotions. Feelings have to be filtered through your conscience and your reason. Lots of bad folks have passions that could hurt others. Do they get to do what they want, free of reason, morality, and judgment?

Besides, you can’t be passionate about everything. There are a ton of things that go into any single business venture. Can you be passionate about all of them? Can you be as passionate about your product as you are about payroll, HR, accounting, cold calls, sales, marketing, and everything else that goes into your business?

However, passion alone is not enough for career success. You must combine strong values, talent, ambition, intellect, discipline, persistence, and luck to succeed in your chosen career path. This is why seeking career advice and guidance can be crucial in finding the right balance and direction for your professional growth.

Whether you are considering starting a small business or changing career paths, factoring passion and tradeoffs into your decisions can lead to more success in the long run. In fact, I made a bit less than $24,000 USD last year and broke even, but I am still passionate about my career and the tradeoffs I have made for it.

If passion is the only way you can get things done, sorry to break it to you — you’re going to run out of wind pretty quickly.

Lasting success in any field is entirely dependent on discipline. Your passion might get you through one project, or you might get lucky — but only discipline can get you through the long haul.

It won’t be easy either, but it will be worth it. Be sure to work your way up slowly and not bite off more than you can chew. Create an atmosphere that helps you develop the discipline you need.

Let’s finally put the idea of passion being the end-all quality for creatives and leaders in the dirt once and for all. Passion is clearly not enough to get you through. Starting might be necessary, but no one cares about how you start. Everyone else wants what you can deliver. Discipline is how you make sure you always do.


Tell Art why he’s wrong in the comments below!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Arthur Piccio manages YouTheEntrepreneur and has managed content for major players in the online printing industry. He was previously BizSugar's contributor of the week. His work has appeared multiple times on The New York Times' You're the Boss Small Business Blog. He enjoys guitar maintenance and reading up on history and psychology in his spare time.