Pursuing Your Passion for Letting Life Defeat You

by Chris McGinty of AccordingToWhim.com

I saw a post on Twitter today where the poster suggested that people saying “pursue your passion” was an indication of privilege. The idea was that the people saying this were judging and that they have never had to worry about things like eviction and health insurance. I follow this person because they seem nice, but every so often they post something like this. It’s a sort of life has already defeated me point of view. I replied once with some practical advice about looking up time saving tips and I got back something like, “I’ve done that already and I still have too much to do and I can’t stop doing any of it, so I guess I’m just screwed.”

I think there is a good point in there somewhere, which is to say that it really is a privilege to be able to pursue your passion. There are places in the world where pursuing passion has to take a backseat to pursuing food. It interests me that the post didn’t mention eating as a privilege, but rather the need to not get evicted and to pay for healthcare. It feels like having a place to live where you use your Wi-Fi and have health coverage is a privilege. That’s why I don’t feel like life has defeated anyone who eats regularly, can find regular employment even if it’s a job they hate, and can go see a doctor when they’re sick.

Maybe that is judgment on my part, but I don’t do very well with people who refuse to try in a society where self-help is a thriving market, because we have the disposable incomes to help it thrive. Pursuing your passion isn’t a big grand thing that is unattainable. Making a living from your passion may be, but pursuing it certainly isn’t. There’s Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and a large portion of the world has the first two levels met without even trying.

Chris McGinty is a blogger who has been teetering between Esteem and Self-Actualization for most of his life.