While purpose provides the ethical framework, passion fuels the innovation required to find solutions, ensuring society benefits from these solutions
Published Date – 11:30 PM, Wed – 27 December 23
By VIIVECK VERMA
The recipe for success is a much sought-after one. When every aspect of our lives becomes a determinant of worth in today’s world, success, excellence and competence become imperative for maintaining our sense of ourselves. Yet, success might be defined in various ways and what might appear as worthy to some people might not satisfy us and what might appear to be our calling may not seem to have a meaningful impact at large.
Since we neither exist in a vacuum nor can we let others overpower an understanding of what makes us fulfilled, the personal satisfaction derived from as well as the relevance of our endeavours become two sides of the coin of our self-actualisation. In other words, what we are passionate about and invested in needs to have a purpose, and our sense of purpose also needs to be found in domains which we care about and excite us. A skilful combination of passion and purpose is the recipe for the kind of holistic success that empowers us in the short term and the long run. Let us unpack this.
Transformative Force
Passion is a transformative force that moulds our lives in the most powerful of ways. People are propelled forward by passion, the intense desire and enthusiasm for something. It inspires originality, tenacity, and toughness.
Work doesn’t feel like a burden when you’re passionate about what you do; instead, it inspires you. Even when things get difficult, passion gives you the strength to persevere and overcome obstacles. However, purpose is what offers us a sense of direction. It is the reason behind our actions. When our actions are in line with our values and beliefs, a purposeful life is created. Contributing to something bigger than yourself — whether it’s your neighbourhood, society or the entire world — is what it all boils down to. Our work takes on meaning and significance when we have a purpose, for it turns work into a mission and a career into a calling.
On the face of it, passion and purpose don’t seem to be very detached and might be expected to occur simultaneously in most circumstances. People around you can be motivated and influenced by your passionate engagement with what you care about. Your enthusiasm is likely to have an impact and be contagious and it may motivate those around you to pursue their goals and passions. Whether through art, activism, entrepreneurship or any other form of expression, your passion can also have a positive effect on your neighbourhood or society. Passion, under such an imagination, seems to automatically correspond to a larger purpose.
Two Together
Why is there a need to meticulously put the two together then? The answer lies in the fact that purpose is not created by the involuntary effect our effort creates but by a conscious understanding of why we are doing what we are doing, voluntarily and consciously asserting our energies involved in our mission against all obstacles. For example, somebody dedicated to making money all the time may inspire others to invest in mercenary pursuits. However, a sense of purpose will involve the ethics and the context of the money-making process. The excellence synthesised together by the coming together of passion and purpose is, therefore, not an accidental phenomenon, but a self-aware one.
In fact, passion and purpose can align in a more earnest and consequential way. A famous quote by TD Jakes sums this up, “If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose”. It is noteworthy that to take steps that make a difference, we must also know what stimulates us. Just like passions without a purpose remain incomplete, a purpose is not something one can be dispassionately attached to. Once we are able to figure out the kind of contribution we want to make, like making and are good at making, we can move towards tying it to a transcendent mission.
Brilliant Synthesis
Think of a hypothetical situation. You are at the cusp of deciding your career and are unsure of how you can contribute to society. After much deliberation and introspection, you realise that science excites you. Yet, you do not know what to do with this predilection in the long run. Regardless, you decide to pursue it and train rigorously in your chosen disciplines, eventually getting certified to be a scientist. With your passionate academic engagement that earned you expertise, you can now contribute to the mission of nation-building by carrying out research and spearheading innovation. Passion and purpose in such a circumstance concoct a brilliant synthesis, which uplifts the individual in ways which positively impact society and the nation. To commit to a purpose, therefore, diving headlong into your passion is necessary.
It is this nuanced understanding that animates powerful, world-transforming efforts in this day and age. The world today faces difficult and intricate problems, ranging from social inequality to climate change. Passionate people with a strong sense of purpose are needed to address these issues. Such people are meant to be agents who are motivated to bring about empowering changes in addition to accomplishing their own personal goals. While purpose provides the ethical framework, passion fuels the innovation required to find solutions, ensuring that society as a whole benefits from these solutions. Therefore, to be a person of today, you need to passionately equip yourself to attend to a purpose.
On the whole, passion and purpose are related and can be combined in fruitful ways for the betterment of the individual and society. An intellectually strong engagement with them that considers nuances is necessary for the two to align, enabling us to lead authentic lives, pursue worthy goals and reinvigorate the world we live in. To be driven by our passion to accomplish a purpose worth realising is the surest way to make the most of the opportunities life offers and we must not leave any stone unturned in this pursuit of human excellence.
